Vanishing Acts
by bluephoenixsong
Summary: How do you catch someone when it's like smoke and mirrors? One minute they're there and the next they're already gone. Ryan Wolfe must figure out the riddle to get the love of his life back. So begins the chase of Jessica Caine. Rated M for adult themes.
1. Anniversary

**Ta-da! Told you it wouldn't be a very long hiatus. That's right, Jessica Caine and Ryan Wolfe are back! Or are they? This timeline for this story is the beginning of season nine of CSI Miami. I'll be honest, too, the reason I'm unloading this story is because my other two I'm working on are almost done.  
**

**This story does have some adult material at the end, so I'm going to give it an M rating, though it's pretty clean for the most part.**

* * *

_Three weeks ago Ryan Wolfe's girlfriend, Jessica Caine, daughter of Lieutenant Horatio Caine, disappeared without a trace. The Miami Dade Crime Lab followed the evidence again and again, but it only led them back to one person- Dr. Jessica Caine. Is she really alive, or has someone made a fool of them?_

* * *

Vanishing Acts  
Anniversary

* * *

"_Did you actually think I would forget? A love like ours is something that can't be forgotten."_

* * *

Ryan Wolfe awoke to his alarm clock blaring. He groaned and slammed the snooze button. He rolled onto his back and laid there in his bed for a moment before he picked up his cell phone and checked the date. He sighed at the date printed in the corner of the screen and dropped the phone onto his chest. He closed his eyes and thought of her. Of her scent, the feel of her skin against his own, the way she made him feel complete. His body began to react and he gently placed his hand over his groin. A yippy bark from downstairs made him groan and cease his intentions.

"I'm coming, Lucy," he called as he walked down the stairs, lease in hand. Ryan found his small dog in her crate in the living room of his apartment. She eagerly wagged her tail at the sight of Ryan. He smiled as he clipped the lease onto her collar and led her outside. Lucy scampered around the courtyard before she finally found just the right spot. Ryan collected his mail and walked back into his apartment with Lucy. She pounced onto her to stuffed elephant and shook it vigorously. Ryan smiled at her as he climbed the stairs back to his master bathroom.

He stood under the hot spray of water and felt the stiffness melt away from his limbs. He closed his eyes and thought of her again. He poured shampoo into his hand and grasped himself. He began tugging at himself and moaned lightly as he continued to fantasize about her.

"Happy Anniversary, Jessica," he muttered to the empty room.

* * *

Ryan's phone rang as he climbed into his car. He didn't recognize the number and shrugged as he answered it. "Wolfe," he said. There was silence for a moment and Ryan listened to it. Then suddenly there was a loud screeching noise and a garbled sound. Ryan threw the phone away as his ear rang with pain. He stared at his phone where it was lying on the floor of the passenger seat, the screeching noise still ringing out. He grabbed it and hung up. "Damn it," he muttered as he started his car and began his commute to work.

* * *

Ryan and Calleigh walked the perimeter of the crime scene. Ryan stopped and knelt beside a spent casing and snapped a few pictures. He collected it using a pair of tweezers, dropping it into an evidence envelope. Slender fingers running through his hair made him stop and look up. He smiled at Calleigh as she smiled back down at him.

"How are you feeling, Ryan?" she asked.

"I'm good," Ryan smiled back.

"Are you sure?" Calleigh inquired.

"Calleigh, really I'm fine," Ryan said again, "You don't have to worry about me."

"Ryan," Calleigh said again.

"Calleigh, how many times do I have to tell you?" Ryan asked a little snippy.

"Because I know what day it is, Ryan," Calleigh quietly said. Ryan sighed and lowered his face back towards the ground. Calleigh knelt beside him and looked into his eyes. "I'm sorry you have to spend today alone, Ryan," she whispered.

Ryan smiled weakly. "I'm not alone; I have you and the rest of the team."

Calleigh smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "That's a great way of thinking about it."

* * *

"Hey Ryan," Jesse said as he walked into the lab Ryan was working in, "How's it going?"

"Well it would be going better if everyone wasn't continuously asking me how I'm doing," Ryan said as he continued to look into the microscope.

"Ryan, we're just all worried about you, that's all," Jesse said. "Your girlfriend disappeared and no one knows where she is. We're going to worry about you until she's back."

"Well then why isn't everyone asking Horatio how he's doing then?" Ryan retorted as he jotted down some notes.

"Maybe because it's not Horatio's one year anniversary with Jessica," Jesse quietly said.

Ryan stared at him silently. "Why does everyone seem to think just because it's our anniversary I'm going to off myself or something? I'm fine. Yes, I miss Jessica like crazy and I wish she was here, but there's nothing I can do about it. Everything's fine with me, I swear, ok? Everything's fine, so just lay off."

Jesse shook his head. "You know, Ryan, when someone says they're worried about you the polite thing to do is oblige them and act like what they've done has helped. You want to be an ass and fight everyone just because they're trying to help then fine. I'm done here. Come find me when Travers is done with our Trace results."

Ryan watched him walk away. He sighed and shook his head. "Man, am I dumb," he muttered.

"No you're not," Calleigh said as she walked in, "Jessica wouldn't be dating an idiot."

"Yeah but I'm apparently chasing everyone away today," Ryan said.

"Again, you're not," Calleigh giggled, "I'm still here."

Ryan smiled at her. "Thanks Cal, I appreciate it."

Ryan's phone rang and he answered it without checking the number. "Wolfe," he said as he continued to shuffle evidence around the table. A loud screeching noise made him drop his phone and grab at his ear. "What the hell!" he exclaimed as he jabbed at his phone to hang up. "That's the second time today that number's called me and blasted my ear drums out!"

"Can I see that?" Calleigh asked.

"Yeah," Ryan said, handing over his phone.

Calleigh looked at the number from Ryan's recent calls. She dialed the number in her phone and waited. A loud screeching noise came through the speaker and a garbled voice. She hung up her phone quickly and stared at it.

"That was weird," Calleigh said.

"Yeah, I've gotten it twice today and it really kills my ears," Ryan commented as he accepted back his phone.

"Well hopefully it's just a prank," Calleigh commented. "Now come on, we need to go back to the scene."

Ryan sighed as he laid his lab coat over the back of a chair. "Ok, what does Horatio think we missed this time?"

"Always thinking the negative, huh, Mr. Wolfe," Horatio said as he met up with them in the hall.

"Nope, no negative, never me," Ryan sarcastically said.

"Good because that won't get you to the altar with my daughter any faster."

A sudden smile played across Ryan's face and the tips of his ears turned red. He looked at the ground in embarrassment. "Ok fine, you've got me there," Ryan muttered.

* * *

Ryan and Calleigh worked in the AV lab on one of the computers, trying to trace calls made from the victim's cell phone. Ryan typed various commands, using different programs.

"Ta-da," Ryan blandly said, "And there you have it."

"Damn Ryan," Calleigh commented, "Maybe you should switch to AV with everything Jessica's taught you."

"Nah, I like CSI too much," Ryan responded as his phone rang again. He looked at the now familiar number on the screen. "Ok buddy, five prank calls in one day is enough for me." Ryan hooked his phone to the computer and began running the tracking programs before he hit the answer button.

"This is Wolfe," he said when he finally answered.

"Hey pumpkin, can you hear me this time?"

Ryan's jaw hit the ground when he heard the voice. He stared at the computer screen in disbelief.

"Hello? Ryan Wolfe, you there?"

Ryan couldn't speak. His heart was hammering in his chest and his tongue was thick and dry.

"Jessica, it's Calleigh, we can hear you just fine," Calleigh interjected.

"Calleigh!" Jessica's voice excitedly exclaimed, "You're there, too! Wait, am I on speaker phone right now?"

"Well yes, we're actually in the AV lab right now," Calleigh explained.

Jessica laughed. "Did Ryan try to track me?"

Calleigh couldn't help but giggle. "Actually yes he did. He thought you were a prankster and decided to track you."

"Sorry, internal cell phones suck sometimes, and my signal jammer probably isn't helping either."

Eric's head popped into the AV lab and he stared towards the computer Ryan and Calleigh were working at. "Did I just hear…" he quietly muttered.

"Eric!" Jessica's voice on the computer excitedly exclaimed, "Is that Eric I hear?"

"Oh my god, Jessica!" Eric exclaimed as he sat down next to Calleigh. "How are you, kid?"

"Hey I am not a kid," Jessica laughed, "And I'm doing great."

"Jessica?" Jesse said as he popped his head into the lab.

"Holy crap, is that my bestie?" Jessica exclaimed.

"Oh my god, I can't believe it!" Jesse exclaimed as he stood behind Eric.

"Told you it was her," Walter said as he walked in, "You owe me twenty bucks. How are you doing, Jess?"

Jessica laughed through the computer speakers. "You guys are betting on whether or not it's me? I see nothing's changed since I've been gone."

"It's only been two weeks," Jesse chuckled, "Give us a little more time."

"Is Ryan even there?" Jessica inquired, "I haven't heard him at all."

Ryan suddenly snapped out of his trance and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Yeah, I'm here, Jess."

"Good, because there's something I wanted to tell you," Jessica said, the smile in her voice obvious.

"Um, ok," Ryan muttered, confusion running through his mind.

"Happy anniversary," Jessica cheerfully said.

Ryan sat there speechless as a silent smile crept across his face. "Thanks Jess," he quietly said.

Jessica giggled lightly. "Well I have to go now, it's almost bedtime."

"Bedtime? It's only six," Eric said.

"Well maybe there, but here it's past eleven and I have work to do in the morning," Jessica explained.

"Eleven?" Walter said, "Where are you that it's almost eleven?"

"Not telling you, Wally," Jessica sassed, "That's for me to know and none of you to find out. At least not yet."

"Jess, when are you coming home?" Ryan asked.

Jessica sighed quietly. "I'm sorry Ryan, I can't tell you that yet. But I can tell you this. I love you very much and I miss you tons."

Ryan smiled shyly and looked at the computer screen. "I love you, too, Jessica."

"I have to go now, pumpkin, I'm sorry," Jessica quietly said.

"Alright Jessie," Ryan said disappointed, "I miss you and I love you."

"I love you, too, Ryan," Jessica said, "Happy anniversary pumpkin."

"Happy anniversary Jess," Ryan quietly said.

The line clicked and a dial tone rang out in the lab. Ryan hung up his phone and silently sat there staring at it. Dozens of emotions were running through him at that moment and he wasn't quite sure what he was feeling. He silently stood from his chair and turned to leave the lab. Horatio stood in the doorway looking at him.

"She called you," he said to Ryan.

Ryan nodded his head. "Yeah, she did."

Horatio looked at him for a moment before he turned and walked away.

* * *

Ryan had to mask the smile on his face as he and Calleigh entered the interrogation room. The suspect was a woman in her forties. She had killed the man in cold blood, accusing him of having murdered her young son.

"So Mrs. Williams," Ryan said as they sat down across from her, "How long had you been stalking Eric Hansen?"

"I wasn't," she snipped, "He was stalking my son."

"What makes you say that?" Calleigh inquired.

"He was a pedophile, it's in their nature," Williams hissed.

"Mrs. Williams, Eric Hansen lived four miles away from you, that's within his legal limits set out in his probation," Ryan explained, "And there's no evidence that shows Hansen was anywhere near your house."

"He was there," she hissed again, "I know it!"

"Mrs. Williams, you can't make accusations like," Ryan said to her.

"Officer Wolfe, you have no idea what I'm going through!" Williams snapped.

"Alright and that would be what?" Ryan inquired.

"My son was murdered!" she exclaimed, "My son was murdered by that man! I needed to make him feel the pain that I felt! Do you know what it's like to loose a child?"

"Actually yes, I do," Ryan muttered.

Williams stared at him shocked. "Your child died?"

"Yeah, my daughter was murdered," Ryan quietly said, "But she wasn't twelve years old like your son. She was just an infant with Downs's syndrome. She didn't have a clue what was happening to her. I just wish there was someway I could tell her what happened. I just wish I could actually tell her that I love her and have her understand that I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect her. I wish there was a way I could apologize for not keeping my promise to protect her. Do you know what that's like, Mrs. Williams? Do you know what it's like loosing a child who doesn't understand the world around her and having no way to tell her?"

Williams sat there, staring at Ryan in disbelief. Ryan looked at her one last time before he stood from his chair. "Book her," Ryan muttered as he left the interrogation room.

He walked through the hall, suddenly exhausted. He flopped onto a couch in the break room and hung his head in his hands, fighting the anger that flowed through him. He suddenly wanted to hurt someone. He wanted someone to feel the pain he was feeling.

* * *

Ryan jabbed and punched at the punching bag that hung from the ceiling in his study in his apartment. He beat it hard, using every fiber in his body to inflict pain onto the inanimate object. His fists ached and the muscles in his arms strained under the pressure.

He gave it a few more good hits before he finally collapsed to his knees, leaning his forehead against the worn material. Sudden tears flowed down his face and he cried with heaving sobs. A frightened Lucy cowered in the doorway and Ryan looked towards her when she whimpered. Ryan sniffed and held out his arms for her. She slowly walked to him and nuzzled her nose against his neck. Ryan held the tiny dog in his arms and cried more, Lucy licking his tears from his cheeks.

"You want her back, don't you?" a voice asked him from the door. Ryan turned to see Horatio standing in the doorframe looking at him. Ryan smiled weakly at him before the tears began creeping down his cheeks. "Yeah, I do," Ryan said.

Horatio walked over and knelt beside Ryan. He scratched behind Lucy's ear as he looked into Ryan's hazel eyes. "I'm sorry, Ryan," he whispered, "Had I known this case was going to bring back bad memories…"

"It's ok, H," Ryan whispered, "You didn't know this was going to happen."

"She would have been born next month," Horatio quietly said.

Ryan nodded his head. "Yeah, she would have."

Horatio held Ryan's hand and squeezed it gently. "You would have made a wonderful father, Ryan," he whispered to him.

Ryan looked at Horatio and smiled. "Thanks H," he said, "I've had a great role model the last few months."


	2. Wax On

**I may have not had an outline for this chapter and just kind of wrote what came to mind.**

* * *

Wax On…

* * *

Kristine smiled as she watched Ryan and Horatio walked into the salon. Horatio's eyes shifted around the room as he took in the light blue wall color and salon decorations.

"Well look what the cat dragged in," she said as she walked over to the counter. "I see you're right on time, Officer Wolfe. Oh but, Lieutenant Caine, I don't seem to have you down for an appointment today," she said with a smirk.

Horatio smiled at her and leaned against the counter. "Well I don't have an appointment but I thought I would see if I could get an appointment with you, Krissy."

Kristine smiled and penciled Horatio's name in after Ryan's. "Well let me take care of Ryan first and I'll see what I can do for you, Horatio," she said with a wink.

"I'll be waiting," Horatio smiled back.

Horatio watched Kristine cut Ryan's hair. She playfully styled it into a fo-hawk and Ryan laughed. "No, no keep it that way," he chuckled, "I think I'll punk it out today."

Kristine laughed and ran her fingers through his hair. "Damn boy, you've got yourself some nice hair! No wondered Jessie Boo let you stay. You ready for the rest of your appointment?" The tips of Ryan's ears turned red and he turned his face away from Horatio and quietly responded.

Horatio watched as Kristine led Ryan into the back of the salon. They were gone for almost half an hour before they finally reemerged into the lobby. Ryan sat in the chair next to Horatio's with his legs slightly spread and his left leg bouncing nervously.

"What's with Ryan?" Horatio whispered as Kristine fastened an apron around his neck.

Kristine chuckled and began messing with Horatio's hair. "I think he's embarrassed."

"Why?" Horatio inquired.

"Boy just got a wax job," Kristine whispered.

"Wax? He got his eyebrows waxed?"

"Nope, think lower."

"Chest?"

"A little lower, Lieutenant."

"Well what did you wax, his belly button? I mean there really isn't anything lower…" Horatio's voice trailed off as realization washed over him.

Kristine chuckled as she began cutting Horatio's hair. "Yup, Ryan boy likes to come in once every six weeks or so and trim up the hedge, if you know what I mean," she said with a wink.

Horatio chuckled as he watched his red hair fall into his lap. "Well I just learned something new about my future son-in-law."

Kristine beamed at him as she stood in front of him and turned his head side to side. "Ryan proposed to Jessie Boo?"

"Not yet," Horatio said, blowing a lock of hair off his nose.

A confused expression washed over Kristine's face. "Horatio, how can Ryan propose if Jessica's…"

Horatio sighed. "Kristine I'm going to let you in on a little secret, but you have to promise you won't tell anyone."

"Can I tell my hubbie?" Kristine smiled at him.

"Of course, I wouldn't want you keeping anything from Robert," Horatio chuckled.

"Ok, so what's this big secret?"

"Jessie Bug's not dead," Horatio quietly said.

Kristine smiled brightly and tousled his hair. "I knew it!" she quietly smirked, "I told Robert she wasn't dead! Where's the little Bug hiding?"

"To be honest I don't know," Horatio said a little disappointed, "She refused to tell me when she left. I miss her like hell though."

Kristine smiled as she brushed the hair off Horatio's shoulders. "Well I'm sure your little Bug will be home soon enough."

* * *

Horatio chuckled as Ryan attempted to discreetly scratch between his hips and groin. "You know Jessie Bug might have something to take the edge off there, Ryan," he said as he turned into his driveway.

"Shut up," Ryan said, shaking his head.

They walked through the laundry room and into Horatio's house. An excited Lucy came bounding towards Ryan, leaving a light watery trail behind her. She looked at the floor and her ears tucked back in shame. Ryan chuckled and scooped her into his arms. "It's alright, Lucy," he whispered reassuringly, "It was an accident."

Ryan began cleaning the floor while Horatio held the excited puppy in his arms. "Bug picked out a cute one," he said as Lucy licked his face, "Energetic too."

"Yeah, but I like her anyways," Ryan said. "Do you think Jessica bought Lucy to help me? You know, to help with the separation?"

"Well Jessie Bug always did think about others before herself a lot," Horatio said, setting Lucy on the ground. She bounded over to Ryan and bite at his heels. "Holds up to the blue heeler part of her," Horatio chuckled.

"Yeah, I've been trying to get rid of that habit," Ryan said, placing his foot against Lucy's chest and pushing her back. Lucy's ears tucked down and she whimpered. Ryan sighed and held out his leg. Lucy happily bit the hem of his jeans and tugged. "But it's so hard because she's so cute."

Horatio laughed and reached down and flicked the dog in the nose. Lucy whimpered again and stared at Horatio. He looked down at her with a stern expression. "It's just like a child, Ryan," Horatio explained, "You have to be stern and not give into their cute."

* * *

Ryan scrubbed the carpeting in his living room, trying to clean the stain Lucy had left. She whimpered and nudged against his elbow. Ryan smiled at her and scratched her ear. "It's ok Lucy, it was an accident," he said.

Ryan's phone rang and he looked at the name on the screen. "Nick, what's happening man? Long time no ring."

"Ryan Wolfe, how you are doing?" Nick Stokes's happy voice sounded from his phone.

"I've been good, how are things in Vegas?"

"Good, good," Nick answered, "How's Jess?"

"Um, she's good," Ryan explained as he walked into his kitchen.

"She there right now?" Nick inquired.

"Uh, no she's not," Ryan quickly said, "It's just me and Lucy right now."

"Lucy? Who's Lucy?"

"Our new dog," Ryan explained, "Jess bought her a few weeks ago."

Nick chuckled. "What, life as a CSI too boring for you two?"

"Oh no, it's plenty active enough," Ryan laughed, "Jessica's just always wanted a dog, that's all."

"Shut up Greg!" Nick exclaimed, "I'm on the phone with Ryan. What? No, I'm busy…ok, fine. The lab rat wants to talk, that cool with you?"

"Greg? Yeah, of course!"

"Ok, give me just a second," Nick said. There was fumbling and clunking noises but eventually Greg's excited voice sounded in his ear. "Ryan! Oh my god, Ryan, how are you?"

Ryan chuckled. "Geez Greg, you make it sound like we haven't talked in years."

"Well it's been a while, I feel like you and Jess never call anymore."

"Sorry Greg, we've been kind of busy lately, catching lots of bad guys."

"Ok I forgive you!" Greg exclaimed, "How are things going with you guys? How's the baby?"

Ryan felt like his heart had stopped. He didn't realize he and Jessica had never told Nick and Greg that their baby had been killed. "Um, well, I…." Ryan stuttered.

"Uh oh," Greg suddenly said as Ryan heard the sounds of running feet, "Nick's trying to take his phone back."

"Then maybe you should give it back," Ryan quietly suggested.

"But I'm not done talking," Greg said as he clearly dodged someone.

"Greg, I can call you any other time, give Nick back his phone."  
Ryan heard Greg stop running and the sound of someone running into him. "Ok, well you should give me a call later. I have so much to tell you!"

"Ok Greg, I'll call you, I promise."

"Sweet!" Greg happily exclaimed. "Give me that!" Ryan heard Nick snap. A frustrated sigh met Ryan's ear. "Sorry about that," Nick apologized, "He's been really excitable lately. I think he's getting laid or something."

Ryan chuckled. "Yeah that can make a guy an entirely different person."

"Anyways, the reason I called is because I have a professional question," Nick continued on, "I was hoping to get Jessica but I keep getting a message that her phone's disconnected. I figured since you guys are just two peas in a pod and you were her supervisor you probably taught her anyways."

"Alright, shoot," Ryan said as he filled Lucy's bowl with puppy kibble.

"We've got a scarf that we think was used to smother our victim. If we can get prints off it from our suspect then we can nail the guy."

"Ok, so you're having trouble lifting prints," Ryan commented. "Have you tried gold powder?"

"Gold powder?" Nick inquired.

"Yeah, you heat the gold flakes and it'll stick to the oils from the skin on the fabric and you can get a lift. Just like super glue fuming."

"Oh, ok, got it," Nick said, "I'll see if we've got any of that. Glad I called you, boss."

"Actually I learned that one from my boss, Horatio, Jessica's father," Ryan explained.

"Well thank you very much sir, and tell Lieutenant Caine that I also send my gratitude. I appreciate it very much. Now maybe I can get that bastard finally."

"Hey not a problem, feel free to call me at any time you need something."


	3. They All Fall Down

**I was just informed that I made a mistake when I last updated. Here's the real next chapter for this story.  
**

**This was one of those chapters that got a little weird for awhile there, and then I just didn't care to try and make it make more sense.**

* * *

They All Fall Down

* * *

Ryan's chest was burning. He coughed and grasped his chest. He felt queasy and weak. He fell towards his lab table and heaved in gulps of air as he grasped the table with every ounce of his strength. His knees became weak and he slid towards the floor. He heard someone cry out his name and his eyes rolled in their socket. Someone was standing in the room. They were small, almost childlike. It was a woman, maybe a little girl. She knelt beside him and Ryan looked into hazel eyes before the world went black.

* * *

"Come on, Ryan, breathe!"

Someone pounded on his chest and lips were pressed against his blowing air into his lungs. Ryan gasped and took in a lung full of clean air. He coughed and gasped as his head pounded. His eyes fluttered opened and lights flooded into his vision.

"Oh thank god, Ryan!" Strong arms wrapped around him and held him tightly against his chest. "Oh god, I thought you were gone!"

Ryan continued to fight to breathe and a familiar scent filled his nose. "H," he finally managed, "What happened?"

"Someone filled the lab with Halon gas," Horatio explained as he helped Ryan sit up. "When I got here everyone was unconscious."

"What did you do?" Ryan inquired as Eric entered the room, handing Ryan a bottle of water.

"Shot the window out, of course. I had to get some kind of clean air in."

Ryan chuckled and leaned his head into Horatio's shoulder. "God, I feel like shit," he muttered.

"You're probably going to for awhile," Eric said, "You weren't breathing there, buddy."

"I wasn't breathing?" Ryan inquired as he drank his water.

"No and you scared the shit out of me," Horatio quietly said as he tightened his grip on Ryan. "I thought you were gone."

"But you saved him," Eric said. He chuckled lightly. "H wasn't going to let you go quietly. He started pounding on your chest and performing CPR and swearing like a sailor."

Ryan chuckled quietly. "Thanks Horatio," he whispered.

"Jessica finally found a good one that I like," Horatio said, "I wasn't about to watch you leave."

"Oh my god! Someone get in here!" Natalia's voice shrilled through out the lab. "We need help! He's not breathing!"

* * *

Ryan walked into the morgue. There he was, lying on the table in his uniform. He looked so peaceful, just lying there. Ryan walked over to him. Ryan placed his hand on top of his where they were folded on his stomach. His hands were cold and he didn't move when Ryan touched him. Ryan's thumb grazed over the back of his hand as he stood there.

"Hey Jesse," Ryan said, "I just wanted to come and say good-bye. Horatio says they're shipping you back to California to be with your family." He looked at Jesse's lifeless face. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. It shouldn't have been your time. You're a good man Jesse and a great cop and CSI. You've helped us so much. You're done great things. You saved Jessica. You helped me bring her back. Because of you I can hold her again." Ryan brushed a tear from his eye. "And that's the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me. I can't thank you enough. You brought back her trust in people. You protected her when I couldn't. You were there for her in ways I couldn't be. You were there for me, too. I don't think I could have survived that week without you and Horatio. Thank you so much."

Ryan squeezed Jesse's hand. He was saddened when there wasn't a reaction, though he knew there wouldn't be. "I hope you're with your wife now. I know you've missed her. I'm sorry it had to end this way." Ryan smiled to himself. "Tell you what Jesse if you see my little girl let her know I love her and I miss her everyday. Take care of her, she needs someone to be with her. She's probably alone and scared. Keep her safe, there isn't anyone I would trust more with my little Elizabeth.

"Thank you Jesse, for being the brother I never had. You're a great man and I'll miss you. Good-bye Jesse." Ryan lowered his hand and looked at Jesse one last time.

* * *

Ryan walked in the dark. It was warm and felt like the sun was shining though it was dark. It felt like there was sand under his feet and the smell of salt lingered in the air. He saw someone walking towards him and almost instantly recognized her.

"Ryan!" she yelled. She started running towards him. She embraced him in her arms and felt him lift her from the ground. He kissed her and held her tight.

"Jessica, I've missed you so much!" Ryan said to her.

Jessica looked at him. Ryan took in her presence and marveled at her beauty. She was wearing her white dress from the day they held the memorial service for their daughter on the beach. He realized he was wearing his khakis and a white button down shirt, the same outfit he had worn that day.

"Ryan, where are we?" Jessica asked.

"I don't know." Ryan responded, looking around. "I don't recognize anything."  
"Ryan, do you see that?" Jessica said, pointing to the light that seemed to be growing. There was someone walking towards them.

They intertwined their fingers and walked towards the other person. As they got closer they could see it was a man. There was someone else walking with him, much smaller, holding his hand. When they got closer Jessica recognized the man.

"Oh my god, Ryan," she said, "It's Jesse!"

"I think you're right," Ryan said to her.

Jesse Cardoza stood before them. He smiled at them. "Hey guys," he said.

"Jesse," Jessica said, "Is it really you?"

Jesse smiled his huge shining smile. "The one and only."  
"Jesse, where are we?" Ryan asked.

Jesse shrugged his shoulders. "No where really."

"Why are we here then?" Jessica asked.

Jesse smiled again. "I thought you would like to meet someone."

For the first time Ryan and Jessica looked at the person with him. It was a small child, maybe four years old. She had dark brown hair and huge hazel eyes. Her eyes lids drooped about halfway and she had a rather round face. Jessica felt herself tear up and covered her mouth with her hand. She felt Ryan squeeze her hand tightly.

"Jesse," Jessica choked, "Is that…?"

Jesse smiled. "Ryan, Jessica, meet Elizabeth Renee Caine Wolfe." The little girl smiled at them and Jessica felt the tears fall.

"Oh my god, is it really?" Jessica asked.

"The one and only," Jesse said.

"Can we hold her?" Ryan asked, his own tears crawling down his cheeks.

"Yes, but you can't take her with you," Jesse said. He knelt to the ground and looked at the girl.

"Is that them?" she asked in a thick voice.

"Yes Liz, that's them," Jesse responded.

"Can I see them?" the little girl asked.

"Yeah Liz, go get 'em," Jesse smiled.

The little girl came running towards Jessica and Ryan. Jessica dropped to her knees and held out her arms. She held her daughter in her arms for the first time and cried.

"Mommy!" the little girl exclaimed, "I found you!"

"Oh Izzy," Jessica cried.

"No, I'm Lizzie." She said, "That's what Uncle Jesse calls me."

Jessica smiled and smoothed her daughter's hair down. "Alright Lizzie."

"Hey Lizzie," Ryan said, kneeling down, "Do you know me?"

"Daddy!" Lizzie exclaimed. She practically tackled Ryan to the ground as she jumped into his arms. Ryan cried, happy to have the chance to hold her again. He buried his face into her hair and breathed in her scent. She smelled like oranges and hand sanitizer. "Oh god, Lizzie Bug, I can't believe it's you," Ryan mumbled into her hair.

Lizzie's eyes brightened and she turned to Jesse. "You were right Uncle Jesse! He did call me Lizzie Bug!"

Jesse chuckled and walked over to them. "Yeah, I guess I'm a pretty good guesser."

Lizzie laughed and wrapped her arms around Jesse's neck. "Thank you Uncle Jesse for bringing them here!"

Jessica looked at Jesse. "You brought us here?"

Jesse looked at her, his warm brown eyes shining. "Yeah, I did. I had to show you, both of you. You both asked me to take care of your little girl, so I had to find her. When I did I knew I had to show you. I wanted you to see how happy and healthy she was here. I know it was a rough ending for both of you. I didn't want you to remember your daughter like that. I thought you would like to see her."  
"How old is she?" Jessica asked. She was confused because their daughter wouldn't have even been born yet if she were still alive."  
"She's four years and seven months old." Jesse said, "And if you say a day less she sasses at you. Just like her mother." He smiled at Jessica.

"But how can she be that old?" Ryan asked.

"Well here you can kind of decide how old you want to stay and how you want to look. I mean in the afterlife you don't really have much to do. Lizzie decided she wanted to be four years and seven months old." He rumpled the small child's hair. "She wanted to be grown up, but still be a little kid."

Jessica pulled her daughter into her arms again and held her. "Jesse, why does she look like she still has Downs Syndrome?"

"Because that's who I am." Lizzie said, "I was born this way, Mommy, and that's how I wanted to stay. I heard Daddy say there was nothing wrong with me when the Doctor told him I had Downs Syndrome and he would love me anyway. I heard you say it too when Grandpa told you. I know there was nothing wrong with me so I wanted to stay this way."

Jessica's eyes over flowed with tears as she buried her face into her daughter's hair. "You heard us, Lizzie?"

Lizzie smiled and nodded her head quickly. "I could! I watched you and Daddy and Grandpa all the time!" The smile faded from her face and her eyes grew huge. "I was there the day the bad air got into the building. I could see Daddy and I knew he would be with me soon. But I didn't want him to come with me. So I found Grandpa and pulled him back to the building. He shot the window and the noise was loud! It scared me! Uncle Jesse found me though. He held me and told me it was going to be ok. He took me to Daddy and I helped wake him up."

Ryan made a whimpering noise and Jessica looked at him. "That was you, Lizzie?" he said, "You woke me up?"

Lizzie nodded her head again. "I did! Uncle Jesse helped, too!"

Jessica looked at Ryan concerned. "Ryan, what's wrong?"

"When I first woke up I thought I saw someone standing next to me." He said, "It was a little girl and there was a man with her. I only saw them for a second and then they were gone. I thought it was the gas messing with my head, but it was you, Lizzie?"

"And Uncle Jesse!" Lizzie happily exclaimed, "You were right Uncle Jesse, he did see us!"

Jesse chuckled and rumpled her hair again. Lizzie laughed and tried to fix it herself. "You're silly, Uncle Jesse!"

"Jesse," Jessica said, "I have to ask, _he's_ not where you guys are, is he?"

Jesse shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I haven't seen him, but I would never let him anywhere near Lizzie. However, there are a few others that wouldn't mind seeing you again."

Jesse stood and took a step to the side. Ryan and Jessica could see a group of people walking towards them. There were three women, a man, and a short girl. Ryan felt his eyes overflow with tears when he recognized the one.

"Momma?" he said walking towards her. She nodded her head and held out her arms. Momma!" Ryan yelled running to her. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his head. "Momma!" Ryan sobbed in her arms.

"Oh my baby boy," Melinda Wolfe said, "You're so tall." She pulled him back and looked into his hazel eyes, the same as hers. "My god, look at you!"

"Momma," Ryan choked, "Momma I love you! I'm sorry I got you killed! I'm sorry I made you dead!"

Melinda hushed him and ran her hand through his hair. "It's ok Ry-Ry, you didn't do anything. It was an accident."

"Momma, where's Dad?"

Melinda shook her head. "I haven't seen him since that day. I looked for him for awhile, but then I gave up. I don't know where he went, but to be honest I don't miss him."  
Ryan felt new tears form in his eyes and he buried his face into his mother's neck. "Momma," he whispered, "I miss you."

"I miss you, too, Ryan. I miss you and Rachael every day."

Jessica walked over to Melinda Wolfe and looked at her. Melinda smiled and touched her cheek. "You must be Jessica." She said, "You finally found him. You found my boy."

Tears streamed down Jessica's face. "What do you mean I found him?"

"You're his soul mate." Melinda said, "When I died I wandered for a long time, looking for my husband. I saw you one day and heard your heart song. It sounded identical to my son's. I knew you were the one that shared his soul."

Jessica blinked back more tears. "You believe it, too. You believe that we share a soul with another being."  
Melinda nodded her head. "Yes, and every time you're born you have to find this person. They're always out there, you just have to keep looking. It's difficult sometimes. I watched a young couple miss that their souls were paired and they lost each other. But because they did, you were born."

Jessica's bottom lip quivered. "You mean my mom and dad?"

Melinda nodded her head. "Horatio heard it but Jessica didn't, but sometimes that's just how things work out. Everything happens for a reason."

Ryan turned and looked at Lizzie. "Lizzie, come here sweetheart." He held out his hand and Lizzie ran to him and grasped it. "Lizzie, this is my Momma."  
"I know," Lizzie said, "I've already met her, along with Grandma Jessica and Grandpa Brian and Grandma Marisol and Aunt Izzy."

"What do you mean Lizzie?" Ryan asked her.

"She's talking about us." They heard a woman's voice say. Jessica and Ryan looked to see Marisol walking towards them. "Oh my god," Jessica said, "Marisol."

Marisol's eyes lit up. "I've waited so long to meet you, Jessica." She pulled Jessica in for a hug and held her step-daughter for the first time. She looked into Jessica's ocean blue eyes and smiled. "Yup, you're Horatio's alright, I can tell by those eyes. I'm so glad we finally got to meet."  
"Marisol," Jessica said, "I can't believe it's you."

"I've been watching you, Jessie Bug. You've been working hard."

"Mari, I miss you." Jessica said.

"I've missed you, too, Bug," Marisol said, hugging her again. "There's someone else who would like to see you though." Marisol wrapped her arm around Jessica's waist and led to the other three people. There was a woman at least half a foot shorter than Jessica and a man Jessica's height. The young teenage girl stood just inches shorter than her mother.

"Mommy, Daddy," Jessie said, "Is it really you?"

Jessica Johnson smiled at her daughter. "Yes Bug, it's us."

"Oh my god," Jessie said, wrapping her arms around her mother. She released her and hugged her father. "I can't believe you're here. I've missed you so much!"

"We've missed you, too, Jessie." Brian said, "You've grown so much." He looked into her eyes. "Horatio's eyes, you really are his daughter."  
Jessie shook her head. "No, I'll always be your daughter."

"But you're Jessie," Jessica said, "Our daughter is Izzy." She reached for the teenage girl's arm and pulled her to her side. She smiled at Jessie a wide smile that was encased in braces. She had curly blonde hair with red and purple highlights and olive green eyes.

"Izzy….?" Jessie said.

Izzy nodded her head. "Hey Jess," she quietly said.

Jessie stood there confused. "But I thought…"

"You always said we were different people." Izzy said, "That day you said good-bye to Lizzie I left too. I was always with you Jessie, but it was time for me to leave." She smiled at Jessie. "Thank you for letting me go though. I finally got to be with my parents again."  
Jessie smiled and pulled her in for a hug. She was almost a foot shorter than Jessie. "You're welcome, Izzy, and thank you; you made me who I am today."

Izzy smiled. "You're welcome, sorry I caused you so many problems."  
"It's ok, Izzy," Jessie said, smiling at the young girl, "I forgive you."

Izzy smiled and hugged her again. "Tell Daddy H I said hi."

Jessica pulled Izzy back from Jessie. "We have to leave now, Izzy Bug." She looked at Jessie and smiled. "Thank you for taking care of our daughter and for finally letting her come back to us."

Jessie smiled and brushed the tears from her face. "You're welcome and thank you for all you've done for me."

Jessica watched them turn and walk away, their shadows fading into the distance. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Marisol standing next to her. "Take care, Bug," she said, "And don't let that father of yours wait any longer. Tell him to move on already." She winked at Jessica and began to walk away but turned and waited. Melinda Wolfe walked up to Jessica, holding Ryan's hand. She placed Ryan's hand into Jessica's and smiled. "Take care of my son Jessica." She said, kissing Jessica's cheek, "He's needed you for a while now." She turned and kissed Ryan's cheek. "I love you, Ry-Ry. I'll see you again some day. And don't worry if I ever see your father again I'll give him a what for." She smiled cheekily at him.

Ryan smiled and looked at his mother one last time. "I love you, Momma."

Melinda and Marisol walked away together, leaving Jessica and Ryan standing there. They knew there was only one thing left to do.

They turned to see Jesse and Lizzie playing. Jesse was swinging Lizzie around, holding her hands, laughing with her. He stopped when he saw them looking at him. He picked Lizzie up and walked over to them.

"Lizzie sweetie," he said to the small child, "It's time to say good-bye."  
"But I don't want to!" Lizzie whined, "Can't Mommy and Daddy stay with us?"

"I'm sorry, Lizzie, they have to go back. It's our time to go now."  
Small tears formed in Lizzie's eyes and she reached out for her parents. Ryan took her into his arms and held her one last time. Jessica wrapped her arms around Ryan and Lizzie and they stood there together.

"I'll miss you, Mommy and Daddy!" Lizzie cried.

"We'll miss you, too, Lizzie," Ryan said, "But don't worry, we'll be together again some day. We can be the family we were supposed to be."

"When will that be?" Lizzie asked.

"I don't know sweetheart, but I don't think it will be for a long time." Ryan told her, "Stay with Uncle Jesse though. He'll keep you safe."

"I love you Mommy and Daddy!" Lizzie cried.

Ryan tightened his grip on his daughter and felt Jessica's arms do the same. "We love you, too, Lizzie." Jessica said, "It was so nice if Uncle Jesse to bring you here."

Ryan set Lizzie on the ground and kissed her forehead. "You be good, sweetie."

Jessica looked at Jesse and jumped into his arms. "Thank you Jesse! Thank you for letting us see our daughter again! And our family! Thank you so much!"

Jesse kissed her cheek. "Anything for you, Jesse Power." He pulled back from their embraces but held onto her hand. Jessica felt him slip something into it. When he released her hand she looked to see a quarter in her palm. It was an Alaska quarter. Jesse smiled at her. "I won't be needing it, you hang onto it though. You might need it some day."

Ryan embraced Jesse in his arms and held him tightly. "I miss you so much, man!" Ryan said, "Without you Walter keeps bugging me to play basketball with him. You know I'm too short to beat Walter!"

Jesse chuckled and patted his back as he stepped back. "Use a left hook; he's too right hand dominate to figure out how to stop it."

Ryan smiled at him and clapped his shoulder. "I'll have to remember that."

Jesse held out his hand and Lizzie slipped her tiny hand into his. "Time to go home, Uncle Jesse?"

Jesse smiled and nodded his head. "Time to go home, Lizzie Bug."

They waved good-bye to Jessica and Ryan and then turned and disappeared into the horizon.

Jessica and Ryan stood there alone for a moment. Then Jessica turned and kissed Ryan gently.

"I guess the only thing for us to do is say good-bye," she quietly said.

"I guess so," Ryan said. He ran his hand through her hair and brought her head to his. He kissed her gently and then again more roughly. They looked into each others eyes without speaking.

"I miss you Jessica." Ryan said, "Everyday I wake up hoping you'll be lying there next to me."

Jessica smiled weakly at him. "I miss you too. We'll be together again though."

"When?"

"I'm sorry Ryan, I can't tell you." Jessica leaned up and kissed his neck. She gently bit at the spot on his neck that she knew drove him wild. She bit harder and felt the skin break and tasted his blood on her lips. She laved over the spot for a moment and then stood back. There was a bruise on Ryan's neck and small scraps with her teeth impressions in it. "There, a little something to take with you," she said with a sly grin.

Ryan touched the spot on his neck and felt the droplets of blood on his fingers. "You did a good job this time," he jokingly said. He leaned down and bit her neck in almost the same spot. When he tasted blood he pulled back and admired his work. "And one for you, too," he said with a smile. He kissed her gently and looked into her eyes.

"Good-bye, Jessica, I love you and I miss you every day."  
"Good-bye, Ryan, I love you, too, and I can't wait until we're together again."

They released their hands and turned and walked back their separate ways.

* * *

Ryan awoke slowly from the dream. He opened his eyes and sat up in his bed. He was alone again. He wasn't surprised.

Ryan pulled his legs up to his chest and stared out the window. He had a few more hours before he had to wake up for work, but he wasn't tired anymore. The dream had been so real. He wished it was. He missed Jessica so badly.

Ryan stood from his bed and walked to the window. He looked out into the clear night sky. He could see the stars for once and smiled to himself.

"Thanks Jesse," he said, "Thanks for letting me see my little girl again."

* * *

Ryan walked into the crime lab and signed in at the front desk. He grabbed the two coffee cups he had set down and walked towards his boss's office. He found Horatio sitting at his desk trying to fill out paperwork.

"I take it someone got here early to finish the paperwork he's been putting off," Ryan said as he set a cup of coffee in front of his boss.

Horatio smiled and accepted the cup. "Now you're not trying to suck up to me, are you, Mr. Wolfe? Because I can guarantee you flattery will not get you married to my daughter any faster."

Ryan chuckled and took a drink of his coffee. "No, I just had a feeling you needed a pick me up this morning."  
"And oh how I did." Horatio took a drink. He froze momentarily and lowered his cup to his desk. "Ryan, what's that on your neck?"

Ryan set his cup on Horatio's desk reached up and touched his neck. "What?"

Horatio stood from his desk and grabbed Ryan's arm. He dragged him down the hall to the men's room and pushed him in front of the mirror. "That," he said, angrily pointing at Ryan's neck. "What is that?"

Ryan looked at his reflection in the mirror. He gasped when he saw what Horatio was talking about. There was bite mark on Ryan's neck. It was bruised and Ryan could just barely make out teeth marks. He ran his hand over the spot and flinched when his fingers grazed it.

Horatio leaned in very close to Ryan. He could see that his boss was starting to fume.

"Do not tell me you had another woman in your bed," he growled in Ryan's ear. "I will feel no remorse."

Ryan straightened up. "H, if I tell you about something, will you promise you won't kill me?"

Horatio grabbed his arm. "You better start talking and it better be quick!"

"I had a dream last night and Jessica and Jesse and Lizzie were there and so was my mom and Brian and Jessica and Marisol and Izzy and they were all dead but Jessica and I were alive and we got to see them again and hold Lizzie and hold each other and just before we left she bit my neck in that very spot and left a bite mark and told me it was a little something to take with me I swear to god I haven't had another woman in my bed and I love Jessica and she's the only one for me and please don't kill me!"

Ryan covered his face as he finished his sentence. He waited for Horatio to hit him but nothing happened. He lowered his hands slowly to find a stunned Horatio standing there.

"You dreamt this?" he asked Ryan. Ryan nodded his head. "Jesse came to you in a dream and Jessica was there and….what?" Horatio tried to follow the story but was too confused.

Ryan explained to Horatio the dream and how he had held his daughter again and was able to see his mother one more time. When he was done he stood there and waited. Horatio processed everything and looked at Ryan again.

"Do you believe me, H?" Ryan asked.

Horatio shook his head. "I don't know Ryan. None of this makes sense, but how else could you get that mark on your neck." Horatio brushed his fingers against the mark. "It looks identical to the other ones we examined on your body when Jessie went missing. But it doesn't make sense."

Horatio stood there for a moment and then pulled out his phone. "Excuse me, Mr. Wolfe, but I need to make a call really quick." He left Ryan standing alone in the bathroom.

Ryan touched the spot on his neck. It felt like teeth marks. He had seen the spot in the dream. Felt Jessica break the skin. How else could he explain it?


	4. Time

Time

* * *

Ryan groaned as he lugged the armchair into the condo with Eric.

"Damn Wolfe, you sure Jessie's going to like your old furniture in her nice place?" Eric chuckled as they took a brief break.

"Don't know, I guess we'll find out," Ryan chuckled, "I figured we'll decide what we want to do with it when she gets back. I'm keeping my TV though. No questions asked."

Eric chuckled and looked towards the door as Horatio walked in carrying a box with Lucy following at his feet. Lucy's tail wagged excitedly at the sight of Ryan just before a light trickle hit the hardwood floors. Her ears laid flat and she whimpered with her tail between her legs. Ryan smiled and grabbed some paper towels from the kitchen.

"It's ok Lucy," Ryan said, scratching her ear, "That excited bladder will go away eventually."

"Is that why you decided on the cherry wood floors by the entrance?" Horatio inquired.

"Yup, Lucy always seems to tinkle when I come home and I figured this would be easier to clean," Ryan explained.

"Again, do you think Jess is going to be cool with all these changes you've made?" Eric laughed.

"And again, we'll find out when she comes home," Ryan smiled.

* * *

The new Trace analysis smiled at Ryan and he politely returned it with one of his own. "What have you got for me, Molly?" he asked.

"Some very interesting results," she said, "You've got quite the mixture here. On the scarf there was chloroform along with nail polish, and the bat has axle grease on it."

"Well that confirms my suspicions of two suspects," Ryan said, thinking out loud. "What about the knife?"

"Nothing except blood," Molly said.

"Did you check under the handle?" Ryan inquired as he pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Under the handle?" she inquired.

"Yeah, maybe something got lodged under it during the struggle," Ryan explained as he disassembled the knife handle. "Yup, there's something green under it, and it looks just like the green substance I found on the scarf."

"Do you think its nail polish also?" Molly asked as she collected a sample.

"Well visually they look the same," Ryan said, "So I'm going to take a chance and say it probably is."

Molly smiled at him. "Wow, you're really smart."

Ryan couldn't help but feel the tops of his ears turn red and return the smile. "Thanks, you're pretty good at what you do also."

"Would you like to get a cup of coffee after work together?" Molly quickly asked.

Ryan stared at her. He knew she was asking him out on a date but he didn't know how to decline the romantic offer. "Um, Molly I would like to get coffee with you, but only as colleagues."

"Really?" Molly said, obviously disappointed, "Why's that?"

"Well you see I'm kind of with someone," Ryan awkwardly said.

Molly looked at him confused. "Who?"

"Ryan," Horatio said as he walked into the room, "I need to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up, boss?" Ryan asked, slightly relieved to have the tension broken.

Horatio smiled at Molly. "Hello Molly, settling into the lab well?"

Molly nodded her head. "Yes, thank you, sir."

Horatio turned his attention back to Ryan. He placed his hand on his lower back in a very intimate gesture. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner tonight. It's a rather important date and I wanted to spend it with you."

Ryan nodded his head. "October 12th, I don't think I could forget this date even if I wanted to."

Horatio smiled at him. "Good because I don't think Bug would forgive you if you did. I'll pick you up at your place after work."

"Ok, just give me a call so I can crate Lucy."

Horatio smiled at him again. He looked at Molly. "It was good seeing you, Molly. I'm glad to hear you've settled in well." He turned and nodded at Ryan with a wink. "Mr. Wolfe," he said as his departing words.

Ryan watched Horatio leave and smiled to himself. He felt excited and honored having Horatio ask him to spend the anniversary of Jessica's adoption with him.

"So you're with someone," Molly quietly said.

Ryan jumped at the sound of her voice, forgetting she was even there. "Um, yeah, I am."

She gave him a questioning expression and her eyes darted back in the direction Horatio had left. Ryan's face flushed and he shook his head quickly. "No, no, no, not like that," he hastily said, "No, I'm not with Horatio. I'm dating his daughter."

Molly raised her eyebrows. "The dead one?"

"No, I'm dating Jessica, not Izzy."

"Izzy? Who's Izzy?"

Ryan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Horatio has two daughters, twins in a way. One's named Elizabeth and the other is Jessica. Elizabeth, or Izzy as she was known, died when she was a teenager. I'm dating Jessica, the one that survived."

"But I thought Jessica was dead." Molly said confused, "It was all over the news."

"Well I don't believe she's dead," Ryan defiantly said, "I think everyone's wrong." He turned and left the room, deciding he wouldn't be meeting Molly for coffee after all.

* * *

Ryan and Eric ran after the blood covered man through the woods. He was attempting to flee the scene and refused to stop as Eric and Ryan yelled at him.

"You go left and I'll go right!" Eric yelled to Ryan as they hit a fork in the path.

"Got it!" Ryan called out as he jumped over a fallen tree.

Ryan sprinted through the wooded path. He could hear something cracking and twigs snapping ahead of him. He pushed himself to go faster, thanking Jessica for all the extra cardio work she had started him on. He could see the man ahead of him but knew there was no way he was going to catch him on the path. Ryan veered off and took a trail that went uphill. He could see the man running along side the edge of the hill, unable to see Ryan from where he ran. The man stopped to catch his breath and Ryan sprang onto him.

Ryan tackled the man to the ground and they struggled to gain control. The man bit Ryan's left arm and Ryan recoiled in pain. The man shoved him hard and Ryan rolled backwards and into a pile of rocks. He quickly regained his footing and tackled the man to the ground. He twisted his arms behind him and snapped handcuffs around his wrists.

"You son of a bitch," Ryan muttered as he pulled the man up, "You really thought you could get away with it."

Ryan led the man back to the Hummers where Eric and Horatio were waiting for him. Eric laughed and smiled at the sight of his friend. "Damn short stuff, you got him!"

Ryan chuckled as he looked at the man that stood at least a foot taller than him. "Hey good things come in small packages."

"Is that what you told Jess?" Eric chuckled as he helped Ryan place the man in Frank's patrol car.

"No, don't you remember, I'm hung like a freakin horse."

Eric laughed loudly and clapped his friend on the back. "Touché Wolfe, you win this time. Hey, what time is it? I'm thinking it's almost food o'clock."

Ryan chuckled at his friend's joke and looked down at his watch. He stopped laughing and felt sadness flow through his veins. The crystal was broken and the hands bent at strange angles. Most of the numbers had fallen off and the mother of pearl face was smashed into several pieces, revealing the inner workings of the watch. Ryan gingerly touched the watch and a spring fell out and the stem fell off. Horatio stood by his side and gently touched his arm.

"My Uncle bought it for me when I graduated from the Police Academy," Ryan quietly said. "It's a real Rolex. He said every man needed to own one once in his life."

"I'm so sorry, Ryan," Horatio quietly said, "The department can pay for you to get a new one. It should be covered under your personal property replacement."

Ryan shook his head. "Its fine, it's probably not worth anything anymore."

"It was to you," Horatio quietly said.

Ryan nodded his head and felt his eyes water. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm so emotional."

"Is it that time of the month for you, Ryan?" Eric jokingly asked.

"Hey lay off," Ryan retorted, "And maybe it is. Men do go through a mental period where their estrogen levels are higher."

"Aww, so you're on your man rag?" Eric teased.

"Shut up," Ryan muttered as he walked away. He climbed into the Hummer he had drove and just sat there. He started to cry and leaned his forehead against the steering wheel. He heard the door open and close and looked to see Horatio sitting in the passenger seat.

"Let's go for a drive," he quietly said to him. Ryan nodded his head and started the Hummer.

"You miss her, don't you?" Horatio quietly asked after they had been driving for several minutes.

Ryan nodded his head. "I hate this; I want her to come home."

Horatio sighed and reached into the pocket inside his jacket. "She sent me something," he quietly said as he held out an envelope for Ryan.

Ryan pulled into a parking lot and cut the engine. He opened the envelope and found two plane tickets to Berlin, Germany inside. "I don't understand," he whispered.

"Sami lives in a little village just outside of Berlin," Horatio explained. "The nearest airport is in Berlin. I think she wants us to come and get her."

Ryan's neck cracked as he whipped his head around to look at Horatio. "She wants us to come get her?"

Horatio nodded his head. "Yes, I think so, but like everything else with Jessie Bug I don't think it's going to be that simple. I think we're going to have to try and find her."

Ryan stared at Horatio and then looked back at the tickets. The flight listed wasn't for another month. That meant he was going to have to wait four more weeks to see Jessica.

"Alright," he said, tucking the tickets back into their envelope, "If she wants to play games then I'll play, too."

* * *

Horatio laughed as Ryan explained his encounter with Molly in the Trace lab that night at dinner.

"So now Molly thinks you're dating the big boss," he chuckled as he ate his food.

"Yup, but hopefully it helps keep her at bay," Ryan explained. He nodded his gratitude to the waiter as he refilled his wine glass.

"You don't think she's going to try another advance, do you?" Horatio inquired.

"I hope not, I felt bad enough declining coffee."

They ate and laughed their way through their dinner. Horatio told Ryan stories of a young Jessica as the night went on.

"Bug decided she didn't want to go to Michigan after all," Horatio said as he reminisced. "So the night before she left she hid my car keys, hoping that if I couldn't drive I wouldn't be able to take her to the train station. But little did she know I knew about the loose floorboard in her bedroom and the next morning she woke up to me prying it up and retrieving my keys."

Ryan laughed so hard he snorted. He knocked over his wine glass as he went to take another drink, which resulted in more hysterical laughing.

"I'm so sorry," he said to the waiter as he tried to help clean up.

"It's quite alright, Mr. Wolfe," the waiter politely smiled, "It happens all the time."

"Well I think I've hit my limit," Ryan said with a laugh, "Good thing you drove, H."

Ryan staggered back to Horatio's car with Horatio's arm around his shoulders. He tried not to laugh at the strange looks the other patrons gave them.

"Guess we'll never be allowed back in there," Ryan laughed. "Making too much noise, getting drunk, and they think we're gay."

Horatio chuckled and stood next to his car as Ryan leaned against it. "You look like you're feeling better now," he quietly said to Ryan.

Ryan looked into Horatio's deep blue eyes. He felt he could almost see Jessica in their essence. He placed his hand on Horatio's cheek and leaned forward. Horatio snaked his arms around Ryan's body and pressed him close to his chest. Ryan's head leaned against Horatio's shoulder and he slowly started to cry again.

"I miss her so much," he whispered, "Why did she have to leave?"

Shots rang out and Horatio dropped to the ground with Ryan beneath him. Tires squealed away as someone yelled out "Blood bitches!"

Ryan's heart raced and his breathing was labored as his entire body shook. Horatio looked around carefully before he stood and helped Ryan to his feet. He looked at Ryan's terrified face and held him close again.

"That's why," he whispered.


	5. What Happens in Berlin

**If you haven't noticed I'm one of those writers who will write stories completely out of order. When I get writer's block sometimes I'll brainstorm and just write sections of chapters for future stories. This chapter is one of those cases. You'll probably notice about halfway through one scene seems a little similar to a scene from my story "Sixteen Weeks." That's because "Sixteen Weeks" was the spawn of an idea that hit me while writing this chapter. I got writer's block while working on a different story and I knew where I wanted my Jessica/Ryan series to go so I decided to write a chapter for something way in the future. While doing so an idea popped into my head and thus a story came flowing from my fingers.**

**Enjoy! :D  
**

* * *

What happens in Berlin…

* * *

Ryan stopped at the receptionist's desk to sign in for the day. He was only working part of that day because he and Horatio were leaving for Berlin later that afternoon. Ryan had a few cases he needed to tie up some loose ends before he could leave.

Lucy snorted inside her portable crate that Ryan had set on the floor next to him. She bit at the bars on the carrier and tried to paw at the lock.

"Sorry girl," Ryan said as he picked her up, "But you have to stay in there until Calleigh picks you up."

Lucy growled at him and bit at his fingers. Ryan chuckled and set her back on the floor.

"Oh Ryan, before you go a letter came for you," the receptionist said.

"Thanks Mel, that's exciting," Ryan said.

Ryan looked at the envelope. It was addressed to him at the crime lab. There was no return address and the stamp had been canceled in Arizona. Horatio looked over his shoulder. "I think we better get a closer look at that first." He said to Ryan.

They walked to one of the lay out rooms with a light table. Horatio pulled on a pair of gloves and lifted the envelope. He weighed it. "It's not heavy enough to have anything hazardous in it." He commented, "In fact it almost feels empty." Horatio picked up an exacto knife and carefully cut open the end. He peered inside and a confused expression washed over his face. "What is it H?" Ryan asked.

Horatio lifted the envelope and dumped the contents onto the table. Pieces of x-ray film landed on the light table. Horatio looked at Ryan. "I don't know Ryan." Ryan picked up a piece. He held it close to his face and squinted. "There's something written on this one." Ryan placed it on the table. The x-ray glowed with the backlight from the table and the words "don't wanna" appeared in silver marker. "It looks like a rib." Ryan said. He started spreading the pieces out on the table. "It's one picture." He said looking at Horatio. "We have to piece it together."

They started scrabbling to piece the picture back together. More words appeared and sentences began to assemble as the chest x-ray appeared. It took several minutes of trying and retrying pieces but they eventually had the full message. Horatio and Ryan looked at the x-ray and Ryan felt his blood run cold.

"hey big pop drop it like it's hot never gonna make it stop to the top because you're so hot but she's Stone cold how you gonna hold if you're stuck don't wanna take her junk better get her drunk make her take your shit get another hit what you going to do when she's gone what do you want got another hot better make it stop it's your blood on top hey big pop what you going to do?"

"What does this mean?" Ryan asked out loud.

"I don't know Ryan." Horatio answered, pulling out his cell phone. "But I think we need to investigate this."  
Ryan looked at him, the fear evident in his eyes. "You don't think this is another death threat, do you H?"

"I'm not sure Ryan. I'll be back in a moment." Horatio left the room as he lifted his phone to his ear. Ryan stood there staring at the x-ray. He could feel his hands shaking as he re-read the message. It didn't make any sense.

Ryan started writing down the message, trying to decipher the code. There was no punctuation except for the last question mark. It took Ryan several minutes but he finally started to see what the author was saying.

"Hey big pop, drop it like it's hot. Never gonna make it stop to the top because you're so hot but she's Stone cold. How you gonna hold if you're stuck? Don't wanna take her junk. Better get her drunk. Make her take your shit, get another hit. What you going to do when she's gone? What do you want? Got another hot? Better make it stop. It's your blood on top. Hey big pop, what you going to do?"

Ryan stared at the message confused. Eric and Calleigh walked into the room. They stopped and stared at the x-ray on the table.  
"Ryan, what's this?" Calleigh asked.

"I don't know, it came for me in the mail." Ryan explained, "It's some kind of message. I don't know what he's trying to tell me. I think it might be about Jessica though."

"What makes you say that?" Calleigh asked.

Ryan pointed to the word Stone in the message. "Stone is capitalized. When Jessica first started at the crime lab she used Stone as her last name. I think this guy is trying to tell me something about her."

"That's Jessica chest cavity, too." Eric said, "From when she was kidnapped. I remember because Cardoza and I had to examine it as evidence. See the broken ribs and the ring in her throat? This was taken before Alexx operated."

"So someone stole a copy of Jessica's chest x-ray and wrote some bizarre message on it for Ryan?" Calleigh asked, "Why does he keep saying 'big pop?' Was that some kind of nickname for you Ryan?"

Ryan shook his head. "No, I don't know what it's supposed to mean."

Horatio walked back into the lab, tucking his phone back into his pocket. "Mr. Wolfe your suspicions are incorrect, Jessica's fine. I had the same thought as you when I saw this and I wanted to make sure she's alright."  
"So Jessica's fine?" Ryan asked, "She's not in any danger?"  
"Not at all, I talked to her myself. I asked her about it and she doesn't have a clue what it is either." Horatio sighed and looked at the light table. "My best guess is someone is harassing you Ryan. Jessica was never pronounced dead and is technically still missing. Someone could have done this as a joke to try and get under your skin."

"Well Big Pop did just that." Ryan said annoyed, "Fucking ruined my day."

"Ryan," Calleigh said, "Why did you put a question mark after 'got another hot'?"

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I read that line a few times. I think it's a question. I think he's asking me if I got another girlfriend." Ryan clenched his hands into fists. "I really don't like this guy getting so personal."

* * *

Thoughts of the letter still played through Ryan's mind as the plane rumbled onto the tarmac. He gently shook Horatio's arm to wake him and the redhead looked at him with the same sleepy eyes as the woman he loved. The ride to the village in the taxi was long and Ryan couldn't understand what the people on the radio were saying.

The taxi pulled up in front of a large stone house. Horatio muttered a thanks to the taxi driver in German as he paid him. They carried their suitcases to the door and Horatio knocked.

Sami Friedman's shock was evident on the short redheaded woman's face. She looked from Horatio to Ryan and back again. A deep voice called out from somewhere in the house in German and she turned and yelled back in German. A large man appeared behind her. He was extremely tall with broad shoulders and light brown hair.

"Lieutenant, Ryan," Sami quietly said in English, "What are you doing here?"

"Jessica sent us tickets and directions to your house," Horatio explained as they stepped into the house. "She didn't explain really but I assumed the tickets meant she wanted us to come find her."

Sami continued to stare at him confused. "Jessica never said anything to me about leaving."

Ryan wandered through the living room as Sami and Horatio continued to talk. He looked at pictures that hung on the wall and smiled when he found one of a young Jessica and Sami, clearly from their early years in college. Framed diplomas hung from the walls and Ryan read over them. There was one from Adrian College for Sami in Psychology and German and one from the University of Toledo's Medical School for Psychiatry.

"We met when she was an undergrad," a male voice said with a thick German accent. Ryan turned to see Nathan Friedman standing in the doorway. He towered over Ryan by at least a foot, yet he seemed gently as a teddy bear.

"She studied abroad for her German degree and we met in a coffee shop," Nathan continued. "She was so beautiful I knew I had to talk to her. She told me she was a student at the University studying from America. She was leaving in a week but I still asked her on a date. After that I never saw her again. Then I decided to study at the University of Toledo, in order to learn more about international medicine. She was there, studying to be a Psychiatrist. She remembered me and I told her that someday I would marry her. She laughed and told me that wasn't much of a proposal. I told her it wasn't a proposal, it was a reality. I told her someday she would become my wife. Then I returned home after that semester. She had hardly given me the time of day all those months. One day while I was a resident at the hospital an American woman came into the ER who had been in a car accident. It was Samantha. I helped to save her life and when she woke up she told me she would accept my proposal. Two years later we were married and we moved into this house."

Ryan looked at him and smiled. "That's a great story," he quietly said, "I like it."

"Nathan," Sami said from the doorway with Horatio, "Didn't you say you saw Jessica outside the guest house earlier today?"

"Yes, she was running through the snow," Nathan said, "I think she was trying to escape the cold."

"Did you see her leave?" Sami inquired.

Nathan shook his large head. "No, I never saw her leave the house."

"When was this?" Horatio asked.

"About an hour ago," Nathan answered.

Horatio looked at Sami. "Could we please see the guest house?"

Sami rapped on the door twice. When there was no answer she unlocked the door using her spare key and wandered in. The house was cold and silent. There was no movement; everything seemed to be frozen in time. Horatio and Ryan followed Sami and Nathan inside. Sami turned on a light in the kitchen and lights flooded the small space. They wandered through the house, searching through every inch of space.

Ryan stood in the bedroom and looked around. He felt tears form in his eyes and he choked on his words as he spoke. "She's not here."

"But she was just here," Sami said, "Nathan saw her. She would have told us if she was leaving."

"Sami, Horatio!" Nathan called from the kitchen, "There's something here!"

Horatio and Ryan rushed into the kitchen at the sound of Nathan's voice. He was holding an envelope in his large hands. "It was on the table," he said.

Horatio looked at the blank envelope for a moment before he tore it open. Inside was a handwritten letter on a sheet of notebook paper in pencil.

'_Jessica,_

_They've found you. I don't know how but I've heard word of the Royal Crip Kings finding you in Germany. You need to get out now! By the time you get this they'll already be there._

_Tommy Sherzer'_

Horatio stared at the letter in shock. He couldn't believe what he was reading. "They're after her again," he muttered, "They know she's alive."

"What's the other paper?" Ryan asked.

Horatio flipped to the next page and read over a letter addressed to him and Ryan.

'_Horatio and Ryan,_

_I don't know if he's serious or if this is a joke or if Tommy even wrote this letter. I don't know how they found me but I'm taking all the necessary precautions. I'm sorry to have led you all the way here for nothing but I couldn't risk someone finding out about you or that I left. Please forgive me and understand that I love you both._

_Jessica'_

Horatio sighed and shook his head. Anger suddenly burned through him and he didn't know who it was towards. "Ryan we're leaving tomorrow," he said, "We need to return to Miami and visit the Dade County Prison. Sami is there a hotel we can stay somewhere near by?"

"No Horatio, stay here," Sami said, "The storm's getting worse. You need to stay put for now. You can stay in the guest house."

Horatio nodded his head, knowing there was no point in fighting her. "Alright, but we leave tomorrow for home."

"Not if there's a blizzard like they're predicting," Sami informed him. "We'll have dinner ready at six. You're welcome to come over to the main house to join us."

* * *

Ryan shivered in his bed. He had several blankets on him and was wearing his sweatpants and a hoodie with the hood pulled up. The storm continued to thrash just outside his window and even with the heat turned up inside the small house he still felt like he was freezing.

There was a loud crack noise and the furnace stopped blowing. Ryan groaned, knowing the power had just been knocked out. A beam of light wandered into the room and Ryan hear footsteps.

"Are you awake, Ryan?" Horatio's voice quietly sounded. Ryan watched the source of the light wander over to the fireplace and logs begin to pile inside. "Yeah, just barely alive," he responded.

Horatio chuckled as he lit the fire. "Have you ever been in a snow storm before, Ryan?" he asked as he built up the fire.

"No, I've lived in Florida my entire life." Ryan said, "My Uncle Ron used his wood chipper to make snow for Rachael and me to play in one year for Christmas when we were kids. That's the closet I've ever been to snow."

Horatio chuckled again as he walked over to the bed. "Move over," he said as he pulled back the blankets.

"What?" Ryan asked surprised.

"How do you expect to stay warm alone?" Horatio inquired as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Besides we've shared a bed before."

"Never willingly," Ryan muttered as he moved over to make room for Horatio.

"You didn't object to me holding you as you cried yourself to sleep that night," Horatio quietly said as he pulled Ryan against his chest. "And I don't see why you would object to another source of heat against your body. It's not like we're having sex."

"God, sex would warm this place right up," Ryan groaned.

"That can be arranged," Horatio slyly said.

"No thank you," Ryan chuckled, "I like fucking your daughter, you not so much."

"When you say it that way you make it sound like we've had sex before."

"Well I don't believe we have," Ryan chuckled again, "I think I would remember that."

"Is that because you think I would be a good lover?"

"Ok now you're just weirding me out, H," Ryan laughed, "Keep talking and I'll go freeze on the couch alone tonight."

"Suit yourself, I'd rather have a warm body against mine right now, no matter who it is."

Ryan laughed as he finally felt himself drift off to sleep in Horatio's arms.

* * *

Calleigh's computer binged and she looked to see a chat window open from Ryan.

Rwolfe: Calleigh I'd hate to ask you but can you keep Lucy a few more days?

Cduquesne: Yeah, of course. Are you and H staying in Germany a little longer?

Rwolfe: Unfortunately, there was a blizzard and all air traffic has been brought to a halt until further notice.

Cduquesne: Well that's no good. How's Germany anyways?

Rwolfe: Cold and snowy. I've decided I don't like snow. It's too cold.

Cduquesne: How was your first snow storm then?

Rwolfe: Terrible, the power went out and Nathan couldn't get the generator running until this morning. We were freezing last night.

Cduquesne: Aww, that stinks. Did you and Horatio snuggle to keep warm then?

Rwolfe: Again, unfortunately, but it was better than being cold.

Cduquesne: Lol, have fun with Big Daddy, lover boy.

Rwolfe: I'll try. What I wouldn't give right now for some sun. Send long underwear!

Calleigh laughed as she closed the window. She walked through her house and found Lucy sleeping in the bathroom behind the toilet. She woke with a start when she heard Calleigh walk in.

"Come here you little rascal!" Calleigh said. Lucy scampered out from behind the toilet and ran to Calleigh excitedly. She snorted and snapped at Calleigh's pant leg. Calleigh chuckled and prodded at the small dog with her foot. "You miss your Daddy?" she asked Lucy when she picked the puppy up. Lucy licked Calleigh's face and she giggled. "You're so cute, I wish I could keep you."

* * *

Ryan sighed when he walked out of the airport and into the sunlight. It was a cool November day but Ryan didn't mind, at least the sun was shining.

"So what did you think of Germany, Mr. Wolfe?" Horatio asked as they piled their suitcases into the back of Horatio's car.

"I realized one thing," Ryan said.

"And what was that?" Horatio inquired.

"I'm never living somewhere there's snow," Ryan sighed.

* * *

Catherine Willows sat alone in her office reading over paperwork. Her phone rang and she looked at the unfamiliar number. "CSI Willows," she answered.

"Catherine, it's been awhile."

Catherine smiled and leaned back in her chair. "Jethro, it has been awhile. How are things in DC?"

"Good, I have a favor I was hoping to ask of you."

"Alright, what is it?" Catherine asked as Nick walked into her office. He politely sat in a chair across from her desk and waited.

"I have a case my forensic specialist can't figure out and I was hoping to borrow one of yours."

"You want one of my CSIs?" Catherine asked surprised. Nick looked at her confused. Catherine held up one finger to him and then quickly put her phone on speaker.

"Yes," Gibbs's voice sounded from the speaker, "Abby's at a loss and we need help or else a guilty man will walk next week."

"Jethro, I'm sorry to say it but I don't have anyone available to send you." Catherine sighed, "We're swamped here and we're up to our elbows in dead bodies."

"Wait, I might be able to help you," Nick said in his southern drawl. "I know of an amazing forensic specialist who probably would love a trip to DC."

"Really?" Gibbs said.

"Yeah she's a frickin genius, too," Nick said. "I've actually been consulting with her for the last six months about different cases I've had."

"Oh is this that Jessica girl you've written about in some of your case reports?" Catherine interjected.

"Yeah, the same one Greg's consulted with," Nick explained.

"Ok, well give me a name," Gibbs said.

"Dr. Jessica Stone," Nick said, "From Miami Dade."


	6. Proof

Proof

* * *

"You don't think this is going a little too far, do you H?" Natalia asked as she entered Jessica's information into the computer.

"No, not after that letter she received," Horatio said.

"But to file a missing persons report?" Natalia inquired.

"I need to find my little girl," Horatio said, "She's blocked me from accessing her computer files and internet history and if I try to use a Trojan horse it backfires and she sends me a virus."

"Damn, she must be serious about all of this," Natalia said as she finished the report. "There you go, if any fingerprints, DNA, or other evidence of Jessica is detected in any computer database in the country then you'll be notified."

"Amazing, thank you Natalia," Horatio said as he walked out of the lab.

* * *

Tommy Sherzer was led into the client room in the prison. He immediately recognized Horatio Caine but the other man with him he couldn't remember.

"Tommy," Horatio said as he towered over Tommy where he sat, "I assume you remember me and my partner, Eric Delko."

Tommy slowly nodded his head as he remembered the other man from the trial.

"Good, good, and I take it you still remember my daughter Jessica."

Tommy nodded his head again, confused this time.

"Alright why did you send her this letter?" Horatio asked as he placed a piece of paper sealed in plastic on the table.

Tommy looked at it and shook his head. "I've never sent a letter to Jessica," he practically whispered.

"Don't lie to me Tommy," Horatio said in an angry voice. "Do not tell me you didn't send this letter to my daughter in Germany."

"Why is Jessica in Germany?" Tommy whispered again.

"She was hiding," Eric snapped, "Hiding from people like you."

"No, I'm not like the others!" Tommy said as tears formed in his eyes, "I didn't want to do it!"

"Then Tommy tell me who sent this letter," Horatio said in a low voice.

Tommy sniffled and wiped at his eyes and nose. "I don't know," he cried, "I really don't know. I swear if I did I would tell you."

Horatio looked deep into his eyes. "Alright son, I'm going to believe you."

"H, are you sure you can trust him?" Eric asked him quietly.

"You know Eric I think he's telling the truth," Horatio said.

"But who else could have sent that letter?"

"I don't know, Eric, but that's what we're going to try and find out."

* * *

Horatio's head shot up as the phone on his desk rang loudly. He shook the sleep from his body and quickly answered it. "This is Horatio Caine," he muttered into the phone.

"Lieutenant Caine, this is Special Agent Timothy McGee from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Washington DC," the male voice on the other end explained.

Horatio sat up a little straighter as confusion bounced around the inside of his skull and a headache began to form. "Alright, can I ask why you're calling?"

"Lieutenant," the man said, clearly straining to form words, "We've found evidence of your missing daughter in our forensic lab."

Horatio's eyes widened as shock overtook him. "You found evidence of Jessica? In your lab?"

"Yes sir," the man responded.

"What kind of evidence?" Horatio asked.

The agent was silent for a long moment. Horatio could hear him breathing and could almost detect the nervousness in his body.

"Her," he quietly said, "Your daughter's been working for NCIS as a temporary forensic specialist for two weeks."

* * *

Ryan followed Horatio out of the helicopter with Natalia close behind him. A man Horatio's height and stature with silver hair was waiting for them at the edge of the hospital tarmac.

"Lieutenant Caine," he said, "It's been awhile."

"Special Agent Gibbs," Horatio said as he shook the man's hand, "It really has, Jethro. This is CSI Ryan Wolfe and CSI Natalia Boa Vista."

Gibbs smiled at Natalia as he shook her hand. "Natalia, you've grown up so much."

Natalia returned the smile. "You look good, Gibbs," she said. She looked at Ryan and Horatio. "I worked with Gibbs a few times back when I was a rooky for the FBI."

Horatio nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Where is she, Jethro?" he asked Gibbs, "Where is my little Jessica?"

"Back at NCIS headquarters," Gibbs explained as they climbed into a dark blue Dodge Charger. "Sorry about the commute, but apparently we have another helicopter that's doing a pick up that was supposed to come in at the same time as your arrival."

"Quite alright, Gibbs," Horatio said, "We weren't something you were expecting." Horatio looked over his shoulder at Ryan fidgeting in the backseat. "Something bothering you, Ryan?"

Ryan looked at him and then diverted his eyes out the window. "I don't know," he quietly said, "I'm excited to finally see Jessica again but I'm scared."

"Of what?" Horatio asked.

"What if she doesn't love me anymore?" Ryan practically whispered.

"Ryan, you're dumb!" Natalia exclaimed, "You really think two months away is going to make Jessica fall out of love with you? That girl is crazy for you!"

A small smile spread across Ryan's face. "Ok, I'm dumb."

"What else is bothering you?" Horatio asked.

Ryan looked at him. "Well I kind of wanted to propose to Jessica when we finally found her," he quietly explained, "But I can't do it today because I never went out and bought a ring."

Horatio looked at Ryan and sighed. He turned his head back towards the front as his thoughts wandered through his head.

"So Gibbs, what evidence led you to finding Jessica?" Natalia inquired.

"Fingerprints," Gibbs said, "Abby was demonstrating our live scan to McGee's scouts and she got a hit on Jessica from the missing person's database. It informed us to contact Horatio."

Horatio chuckled. "So my little girl's been hiding in DC," he said, "And let me guess, she used the name Jessica Stone."

"Well that's the name Catherine gave me," Gibbs said.

"Catherine?" Horatio asked, "That wouldn't be Catherine Willows from the Las Vegas Crime Lab, would it?"

"The same one," Gibbs responded, "Well actually it was her colleague that gave me the name."

Ryan smiled to himself as he watched the city pass by him. "Let me guess, Nick Stokes."

* * *

Anthony DiNozzo looked at the envelope again. He held it up to the light and tried to read through it.

"Who in the world is Lieutenant Caine?"

"Not a Clue," Ziva David said from her desk. "I've never heard of a Lieutenant Caine before."

DiNozzo sighed and dropped the envelope onto his desk. "This sucks, why would she give me a letter for a man I don't even know? I mean, who the hell is Lieutenant Horatio Caine?"

"I'm Lieutenant Horatio Caine," a man with red hair said as he walked out of the elevator with Gibbs. "What's it to you?"

DiNozzo froze and stared at the man. He was the same height as Gibbs yet DiNozzo felt like he was looming over him. Another shorter man and a woman came into view behind him.

"Um, I'm uh," DiNozzo stuttered, trying to regain his thoughts. He finally decided on standing and holding out his hand. "Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, sir," he said awkwardly.

"Very special," McGee said as he passed DiNozzo's desk. He smiled at Ryan and held out his hand. "Officer Wolfe, good to see you again."

Ryan shook his hand. "Special Agent McGee, it's been awhile."

"Is this the Tim McGee you and Jessica met at the conference last year?" Natalia asked.

"Yes, the very one," Ryan said. "Agent McGee this is CSI Natalia Boa Vista and Lieutenant Horatio Caine."

DiNozzo's face lit up like a Christmas tree. He hastily grabbed the envelope he had previously been trying to peek at. "Um, this must be yours then," he muttered, handing the envelope to Horatio.

Horatio looked down at the familiar handwriting. He turned it over in his hands and ran his palms against it. He could feel something inside it that was rough in texture.

"Oh my god Ryan!" a loud female voice explained. A young woman with black hair wearing a plaid skirt with a white button down shirt and large black boots flung her arms around Ryan's neck. "Oh my god I didn't know you were coming!"

Ryan chuckled and hugged her back. "Thanks Abby, I've missed you, too."

Abby released her grip on Ryan and looked at Horatio and Natalia. "Ok I'm guessing this is Horatio and you are?"

"Natalia Boa Vista," Natalia said, "I'm with Miami Dade."

Horatio ripped open the envelope, ignoring the commotion that was going on around him. He read over the letter and watched the scrap of fabric fall into his hand. Sudden anger burned through him as his hands began to shake.

"Where is she?" Horatio asked, "Where's Jessica?"

"She should be down in the lab with Abby," McGee said. He stopped and looked at Abby as he became extremely nervous. "Abby where is she?"

Abby looked at McGee with frightened eyes. "She told me she was going to wait up here with you."

McGee looked from her to Gibbs then to Horatio and back to Abby. "She told me she was going to wait downstairs in the lab with you."

"Uh oh, the old switcharoo," DiNozzo chuckled in his usual sarcastic manner, "Dr. Stone got you two."

"And what about you, Tony?" David asked as she sauntered over, "Didn't you say she stopped for a flirt when she gave you that letter."

DiNozzo's jaw stopped. "Ohhh…" he said in a low voice. He looked at Gibbs with an uneasy expression on his face. "Boss, I may have screwed up."

"Shit," Horatio muttered, "Did she tell you where she was going?"

"No," DiNozzo answered, "I assumed that when she got in the elevator she was heading downstairs to Abby's lab."

"But she didn't come down to my lab," Abby said.

"Well then if she didn't go down then she had to go up…" McGee said. He suddenly ran to his desk and began typing on his computer. "That pick up, Abby, what did you order to have picked up from the tarmac?"

"Pick up? I didn't order a pick," Abby said, rushing to his side.

"It says right here that a tarmac pick up order was filed this morning from the forensic lab," McGee read.

"What is it McGee?" Gibbs asked, "What was the helicopter picking up?"

"A shipment of stones," McGee read.

Horatio looked at him shocked. "Stones?" he repeated.

"Yeah, stones," McGee repeated confused, "Does that mean something?"

Horatio looked at Gibbs. "What's the fastest way to your tarmac?"

"The elevator," Gibbs answered, "The only way really, unless you want to climb five floors of stairs." He led Horatio towards the elevator and Ryan, Natalia, and McGee followed.

"What do you think it means, H?" Ryan asked as the cart jolted to life.

Horatio held out the letter and scrap of fabric to Ryan. Ryan didn't get the chance to read the letter because of the white scrap of fabric with the name "Stone" embroider on it grabbed his attention.

"Of course, Stones," Ryan muttered.

They burst through the door and ran out onto the tarmac. The thunderous clapping of helicopter blades sliced through the air loudly. Ryan ran to the center of the tarmac and looked towards the sky. The blue helicopter quickly gained altitude but Ryan could see her blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked away from him and the pilot sped away.

Ryan stood there silently, feeling like his heart had been ripped through his chest. His hands clenched into fists and he was vaguely aware of the crunching of paper in his hand. "Dammmmmmnnn it!" he screamed, "Noooooo!"

Horatio was suddenly at his side, holding him against his chest. Ryan hadn't realized he was crying until that moment. He sobbed and shook as Horatio whispered words of comfort.

McGee watched the interaction between Horatio and Ryan and felt his heart hurt.

"I should have known," he whispered.

"Known what?" Natalia quietly asked.

"I should have known she was going to pull a fast one on us," McGee said. "I can't believe I let this happen."

"McGee I've told you before," Gibbs said, "We're not psychics; we never know what this job is going to throw at us. You just have to work with what you've got."

"And what's that?" McGee somberly asked.

"Well for starters that paper crumbled in Wolfe's hand," Gibbs said.

* * *

Ryan rubbed the tears from his face as they walked from the elevator cart. He didn't want the entire NCIS team knowing he had been crying.

Abby looked at them as they walked into the office. One look at Ryan's face told her everything that had happened. She gently wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

"I'm sorry, Ryan," she whispered, "I'm sorry we screwed up."

"It's ok, Abby," Ryan whispered, "It's not your fault. These things just happen sometimes."

"If you don't mind me asking," Abby quietly said, "But what did the letter say?"

Ryan held it up and read over it again. "I'm sorry to do this but the game isn't over yet. I'll come home when I feel like it. Love, Jessica."

Abby looked at him with large empathetic eyes. "I'm sorry Ryan," she whispered.

"Well Jessie Bug wasn't much of one to let other people tell her what to do," Horatio said, "She was a rebel alright."

"Was, still is," Ryan scoffed.

Abby stood there looking at Ryan. She gently touched his cheek. "You're a lucky guy, Ryan," she quietly said, "She has a great guy like you."

Ryan smiled at her. "Even if she is a giant tease," he chuckled.

"Hey, a tease is better than nothing," she chuckled. "Makes me wish I had a guy like you."

Ryan smirked and leaned in close to her ear. "I bet you already do."

Abby looked at him and then looked at McGee. She slowly walked over to him. She looked deep into his eyes and fidgeted nervously.

"She was right," she quietly said, "Jessica was right about us."

McGee stood there speechless. He knew what she was saying but just couldn't seem to wrap his head around the idea.

Abby looked at McGee, watching the gears turn in his head. "McGee?" she quietly said. He looked at her. "Abby?"

Abby looked at him again. She grabbed his face and smashed her lips against his. McGee was shocked, he couldn't move. His head was spinning and his stomach tightened into knots. Abby pulled back. She stared into his eyes. "Abby," McGee quietly said. A small smile spread across her face and she looked at him with a shy expression. McGee laced his fingers into her hair and pulled her back to him. He kissed her passionately, not caring who was there.

"I can't believe it." DiNozzo said, "I just can't believe it."

Ryan chuckled and shook his head. "Well it seems Jessica really has an effect everywhere she goes."

Horatio smiled and watched the two young agents. "Yeah, she sure does."

* * *

Gibbs ran his sander along an arched piece of wood. He blew on it, sending sawdust flying everywhere.

"Where did Wolfe go?" he asked as he walked around to his workbench, retrieving his mug full of bourbon.

"Upstairs," Horatio answered as he took a drink from the bourbon bottle in his hand. "I think he's taking you up on that offer for a soda. Won't he be surprised."

"About what?"

"To find out you don't really have any soda in your house," Horatio said with a chuckle.

"How did you know I don't drink soda?"

"Luckily guess." Horatio pressed the bottle to his mouth and took another long swig.

"Horatio, that's one-hundred-fifty proof," Gibbs chuckled as he resumed his sanding.

"So?" Horatio said with a hazy expression.

"You're not supposed to chug it. You're supposed to just sip it. That shit could curl even your hair."

"Your hair's not curly."

"That's because I don't chug one-hundred-fifty proof bourbon." Gibbs looked at him and shook his head, chuckling lightly. "Who would have thought I'd see the day Horatio Caine would get drunk."

"Well excuse me," Horatio said, slurring his words slightly as he stood from his seat on the stairs, "But my daughter's missing. I think I have the right to get drunk every once in awhile."

Gibbs laughed at him again and continued sanding.

Horatio walked over and stood next to him. He leaned against Gibbs's body and just watched him sand.

"You missed a spot," he slurred, taking another drink.

"You're drunk," Gibbs retorted.

"Yeah, I am, but that doesn't mean I don't know carpentry even when I'm wasted."

Gibbs laughed at him again. He stopped and looked at the rough patch of wood just to his left.

"Well I'll be damned, red, you were right," he said as he ran his sander across the rough patch.

"Told you," Horatio said, leaning his head on Gibbs's shoulder. A moment of vertigo hit him and he swayed in place. He grasped Gibbs's upper left arm to regain his footing. The vertigo stopped and Horatio just stood there holding Gibbs's arm. "You have very large muscles," he said.

"From sanding," Gibbs easily responded.

"No, these are like, much bigger then sanding muscles," Horatio continued on, trying to process his words in his drunken state. He looked at the bottle in his hand and took a quick drink. "No more booze," he mumbled. "I'm starting to have homosexual thoughts."

Gibbs laughed loudly and wrapped one arm around Horatio's waist.

"Oh, apparently so are you," Horatio said, slightly surprised.

"No, sorry to disappoint you, Lieutenant," Gibbs said, still laughing, "But I was going to take you upstairs to get some water."

"That would probably be a good idea," Horatio said, stumbling slightly as they climbed the stairs. "Where's Ryan?"

"Probably still searching the kitchen for that soda," Gibbs answered.

"Why?"

"He didn't seem too keen on the bourbon."

"Why not? Taste fine to me."

"Shut up and walk, Horatio," Gibbs said with another laugh.

* * *

Ryan lied on his stomach on his bed. Lucy was curled up against him and he subconsciously scratched behind her ear. He flipped through the photo album Jessica had put together of them over the course of the last year. They all looked the same. They were happy and smiling together. Then there was one of them kissing. Horatio had snapped the picture when they weren't looking. At first Ryan had been embarrassed and angry that Horatio had taken the picture, but now it made him smile and his heart flutter. He ran his finger over Jessica's face and smiled.

"I miss you Jess," he whispered, "Please come back to me. No more vanishing acts. Just come home."

* * *

**The last part in Gibbs's basement wasn't originally in the story, but I thought of it one day and added it in. Just adding a little something fun to the mix. ;)**


	7. Where the Wind Goes

Where the Wind Goes

* * *

Walter and Natalia wandered around the large ballroom. They were at the annual forensic conference that was being held in Philadelphia that year. They mingled and chatted with other scientists and specialists from all over the country. They were seated together at a table as they waited for their dinner to start.

The speaker stood at the podium and tapped the microphone to test it.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman," he finally said. He paused as he waited for the chorus of "Good evening" to commence its echo. "I would like to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight and listening to me bore you to death." There was a light chuckle through out the ballroom as he waited for the crowd to quiet down. "My name is Dr. John Matthews and I'm here tonight to entertain you. Unfortunately I don't think I'll do all that great of a job so instead I'd like to introduce a young woman I met years ago who I think would do a much better job. She's the youngest person I've ever met to hold the honorable title of Doctor of Philosophy in three different areas of specialty. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Jessica Stone."

The room erupted into a sea of applause. Walter looked at Natalia with the same shocked expression as her.

"You don't think that's our…" he quietly said to her.

"I don't know," Natalia responded.

A young blonde woman walked to the podium and shook hands with the man already there. She stood before them and smiled.

"Thank you Dr. Matthews," she said, "I feel so fortunate to have this opportunity to speak before so many great scientists…"

Her voice faded out as Walter and Natalia whispered between their selves.

"Oh my god, that's so Jessica!" Walter hissed under his breathe, "What should we do?"

"Ok, just remain calm, Walter," Natalia instructed.

"Natalia, this isn't a fire or a tornado or a bomb, this is Jessica Caine! We need a plan!"

"Walter, relax, let's think about this. We need to not make a scene right now so we either need to wait until the dinner is over or…"

"Or what?" Walter interjected.

"Or we need to come up with the next better solution," Natalia scoffed as she finished.

"I don't think we should wait," Walter said, "If Jessica sees us then she's going to make a beeline for the door no matter what."

"So do you think we should intervene?" Natalia asked.

"I think so, Jessica's a slippery one. We need to act as soon as she's done."

"Ok, where was she sitting?"

"I don't know, I wasn't paying attention to that part. I was too shocked to think clearly."

A sea of applause interrupted their conversation. They watched as Jessica thanked the crowd and stepped down from the podium.

"Now's our chance," Natalia said, "Come on."

They stood and walked towards Jessica. Eyes began following them as they made their way towards Jessica's table. She was talking politely with the other guests when she caught sight of them. She didn't hesitate for a moment when she sprung from the table and dashed across the room. She kicked her plaid shoes off and sprinted through the ballroom barefoot.

"Jessica Caine, stop!" Natalia yelled as she started running after her with Walter.

"Ma'am, what's going on?" a security guard stopped them to ask.

"Sir we need to catch that woman," Natalia explained, flashing her badge, "She's a missing person of interest from Florida."

"You can either help us or get out of the way," Walter said.

The security guard radioed out to others as they ran through the lobby towards the entrance of the hotel. They saw a flash of blonde duck into a taxi as it pulled away from the curb.

"We need you to call the local police and have them put a BOLO out on that taxi, now!" Natalia explained as she dialed Horatio's number. "Horatio, its Natalia, I think we've found Jessica."

* * *

Natalia paced the control room as she wanted the Philadelphia Police set up their stake out.

"Do you really think she's going to come back?" Walter asked as he handed her a cup of coffee.

"Yes, she would be loosing too much if she stayed away," Natalia said, "I mean she has to have _something_ in her hotel room here."

"Why do you think she came here?" Walter inquired.

Natalia shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered, "There had to be another reason other than just the conference."

"Ms. Boa Vista," a police officer said, "We've got everything set up."

"Good, is the surveillance just in the hall or is it also in the room?" Natalia asked.

"Only in the hall," he explained, "We couldn't get access to the room because it's a private room that's already rented out and we don't have any probable cause to enter the room."

"Alright, that's fine," Natalia said, "As long as we know she's in the room."

"Now what?" Walter asked.

"Now we wait," Natalia said as she took a long drink of her coffee.

Hours passed by without sight of Jessica. Then a blonde woman wearing an oversized coat walked down the hall. Natalia leaned in and looked at her.

"Is that Jessica?" Walter asked.

"I don't know, she wasn't wearing a coat when she left," Natalia said, "She didn't even have shoes."

"Maybe she bought them," Walter suggested.

The woman suddenly stopped and walked into suite number 817. "That's her!" Natalia exclaimed as she leapt from her seat. "We need to get down there now!"

Natalia and Walter led the way with the Philadelphia Chief of Police. They stopped outside Jessica's suite as he pounded on the door, announcing their presence. When no one answered he swiped the master key leant to them from the manager and entered the room. Officers swarmed through the room, ducking into every corner and examining every inch. Natalia looked at the key card sitting on the coffee table and then felt a cold breeze. She looked to see the sliding glass door that led out onto the balcony ajar. Sudden realization swept through her as she ran to the door and tore it open. She looked down over the balcony banister and saw a flash of blonde two stories below.

"She's climbing down using the balconies!" Natalia yelled as she ran back into the hall. She ran down flight after flight of stairs, until she had to stop and catch her breath. She stumbled onto the forth floor and heaved, trying to take in as much air as she could. A couple dressed in hotel bathrobes popped out into the hall and looked at her.

"Are you chasing that freaky girl that just busted into our room?" the man asked.

Natalia looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

He opened the door to reveal glass fragments covering the hotel room floor. The balcony doors were broken and shattered, the curtains billowing in the autumn breeze.

"Oh dear god," Natalia muttered, "She broke in your window?"

"More like flew through it!" the woman exclaimed, "She scared us half to death!"

"Do you know which way she went?" Natalia asked.

The man shook his head. "Once she left our room that was the last we saw of her."

"Thank you," Natalia said as she took off running again.

There were other Philadelphia officers flooding the halls as she ran through the hotel. She reached the lobby and rushed to the front desk.

"Have you seen a blonde woman leave?" she asked. The clerk gave her a look that told Natalia she had just asked the stupidest question ever. "Ok, how about this. Has Dr. Jessica Stone checked out?"

The clerk typed on his computer and then nodded his head. "She checked herself out just five minutes ago."

Natalia groaned and turned away from him. She pulled out her phone and called Walter.

"Walter, we were too late," she said, "She's already gone again."

* * *

Natalia and Walter laid out the contents of the suitcase they found in Jessica's hotel suite out on the light table back in Miami. Horatio and Ryan entered the room and watched them work.

"It's just a lot of clothes, really," Natalia said, "A few forgotten toiletries but nothing irreplaceable." She said as she set down a toothbrush and a box of tampons. "Nothing too weird."

"Unless you count this," Walter said, holding up a man's pea coat. "This definitely doesn't belong to Jessica."

"Is it your, Ryan?" Natalia asked.

Ryan shook his head. "I've lived in Florida my entire life, what would I need a winter coat like that for?"

"Just curious," Natalia said, "I'm just trying to make sense of all of this."

Ryan looked at the black and purple plaid suitcase; it was definitely Jessica's. He reached out and picked up a shirt. He spread it out on the table and smiled. It was the shirt she had bought the day after their first night together; the one she had bought so she wouldn't have to go to work wearing the same shirt from the day before. He gingerly lifted it to his face and inhaled deeply. Her scent lingered on the fabric and made his eyes tear up. He folded it and carefully set it on the table.

"Ryan," Natalia said, "Does this belong to Jessica?"

Ryan looked to see Natalia holding a silver necklace. Attached to the chain was a key shaped charm that had a heart shaped top trimmed with emeralds and peridots.

"Where did you find that?" Ryan asked, holding out his hand.

"It was in the pocket of the coat," Natalia explained.

Ryan shifted the necklace in his hands and watched the light dance off of it. "Yeah, it's Jessica's," he quietly said, "I gave it to her last Christmas."

"Do you think she's trying to tell us something?" Natalia asked.

Ryan looked at it. He thought long and hard about the situation. "This wasn't an accident," he quietly said, "Jessica would never forget something this important." He stared at the necklace, racking his brain. Then a small smile spread across his face. "She wants me to have it," he chuckled, "She bought the coat not only to keep warm but because she wants me to have it. It's a Christmas present."

Natalia chuckled lightly. "Alright, I'll accept that answer," she said as she handed the coat to Ryan. "It's not a real case so what's it matter anyways?"


	8. Someone to Watch Over Me

**Sorry it's been awhile. I've been super busy.**

* * *

Someone to Watch Over Me

* * *

Horatio sighed as he signed the paperwork and handed the forms back to the Internal Affairs receptionist.

"I'm really sorry about this, Theresa," he said again, "I don't think Jessica intended for the window to break."

"Horatio, the Philadelphia Police said she jumped through the window," the woman snapped. "How could she have not intended for it to break?"

"I don't know," Horatio finally said in a slightly sarcastic voice, "Maybe she was hoping to materialize through it. You never know until you try."

The woman looked at him with angry eyes as she shoved the forms into a mailbox behind her. "This is the last time the department is paying for your daughter's actions, Lieutenant," she sneered. "Next time she pays out of pocket."

"Alright, I'll call Bug and tell her no more testing for super powers. Have a swell day, Theresa," Horatio said with a wink as he walked out of the office.

Horatio rode the elevator back to his floor and walked down the hall towards his office. He caught sight of Ryan and quickly matched his pace.

"Ryan, just the man I wanted to see," he said as he led Ryan off his original path.

Ryan looked at him confused. "Ok, what's up, H?"

"How was your Thanksgiving?" Horatio causally inquired.

"Good, it was nice to see my uncle and sister again."

"No explosions this year?" Horatio asked with a mischievous grin.

Ryan shook his head and chuckled. "Jessica told you about Uncle Ron forgetting to thaw the turkey before he tried to deep fry it last year, didn't she?"

Horatio chuckled to himself. "Yes, actually she did," he said as he led Ryan into his office.

Ryan walked into Horatio's office and Horatio shut the door. Horatio motioned for Ryan to sit at the chair across from his desk, as he sat at his chair. Horatio's desk was rather clean for once. He only had about ten case files on it instead of the usual fifty, and they were in a neat stack as opposed to the usual scattered piles. Ryan was nervous; he had no idea why Horatio wanted to see him in private in his office.

"Ryan," Horatio began, "I wanted to talk to you about Jessica."  
Ryan sat up a little straighter in his chair. "Alright, what's up?"

"Awhile ago you asked me for her hand in marriage. I wasn't sure if you were serious about making this commitment, but now I can see that you are. I want you to have something."  
Horatio reached into a desk drawer and pulled something out and placed it on the desk in front of Ryan. It was a small ladybug shaped velvet box. It was rather old looking, missing velvet and having exposed plastic in some places and only one eye.

Horatio nodded when Ryan reached his hand out hesitantly and looked at his boss. Ryan picked up the box and held it in his hands, looking it over more. Ryan discovered the box opened so that the back of the ladybug was standing up. Ryan slowly opened the box and discovered three rings inside.

The first was a woman's ring. It had a ruby in the center of several impossibly tiny pearls on a silver band that was engraved around the band in the pattern of a scrolling Celtic knot. Then there was a small silver band with four rubies encrusted in it, spaced evenly apart, with more of the Celtic scrolling engraved within the band. The last ring was clearly a man's. It was a larger silver band that also had four rubies evenly spaced and the Celtic scrolling engraved in it, just like the small band.

Ryan looked at Horatio, slightly confused. "What are these?"

Horatio looked at him, a mixture of sorrow and joy in his eyes. "They're Jessica's biological parent's wedding rings and her mother's engagement ring. The day Jessica's mother died her father placed all three in that box and put them in his lock box. It had been her mother's dying wish to have her daughter and future husband wear them, and her father agreed because he knew he would never re-marry and never love another woman like he had Jessabelle."

"Why are they in this box?" Ryan asked.

"Because that's the box Jessica's father used to propose to her mother. Jessica thought Brian was only giving her a ladybug necklace that they had seen in a store earlier that day, but he had switched the boxes for the necklace and the ring in order to catch her off guard. It worked because Jessabelle screamed when she saw the engagement ring inside."  
Ryan knew by the nickname that Horatio was talking about Jessica's mother, the original Dr. Jessica Stone, the name Jessie had taken when she went into hiding.

Horatio looked at Ryan and continued on with the story. "Jessie Bug has never seen that box, nor has she seen her mother's ring since she was four. I don't think she remembers what it looks like, since her mother stopped wearing it when she started chemo therapy, in fear of loosing them."

Ryan knew where this was going, but continued to patiently listen to Horatio.

"I want you and Jessica to have these Ryan. You are the first man that she's loved in her life and I want her to be happy. I know you'll bring her that happiness, son."

Ryan could feel tears forming in his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time that someone had called him son. Ryan was so overwhelmed with emotion. He was finally going to marry the woman he loved, he was going to start a new life with her, and he was going to have a father again. Ryan couldn't help but let his tears release. He was so grateful for everything Horatio was doing for him.

Ryan felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his shoulders. He could see Horatio's red hair out of the corner of his eye.

"Thank you Horatio," he finally managed, "This means so much to me."  
Horatio smiled at him as he pulled back and looked at Ryan. He handed Ryan a tissue and continued to look at the young man.

"Anything for my new son." Horatio said, "Now, try it on."  
"What?"

"The ring, you have to make sure it fits. You don't want to get to the altar and find out it's the wrong size. Go ahead, try it on."  
Ryan looked at Horatio for a moment. He then pulled the man's wedding band out and with shaky fingers slid it onto his left ring finger. It fit perfectly, like it was made for Ryan.

"Beautiful." Ryan heard Horatio say, "You could be ready to get married tomorrow if you wanted."

Ryan smiled and chuckled at Horatio. "If only I could marry Jessie tomorrow I would." Ryan paused briefly, "Do you know when she's coming back?"

Horatio shook his head. "No, she only calls me once a week and tells me how she's doing. She hasn't mentioned anything about coming home yet. But you can believe me Ryan, you'll be the first to know when she decides it's time to come back."  
Ryan smiled at him. "Thank you Horatio. For everything you've ever done for me."

Horatio returned Ryan's smile with his own caring one. "Like I said anything for my new son."

* * *

Ryan jumped from his car and grabbed his pile of gifts and Lucy's lease. He huddled against the wind as he knocked on the door of the slightly unfamiliar house. Yelina smiled at him as she opened the door.

"Ryan," she said as she let him in, "It's so good of you to come."

"Yes, I'm surprised you didn't freeze to death last night," Horatio smirked as he came around the corner.

Ryan rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Shut up you," he laughed, "You're just mad because I stopped coming over to cuddle with you at night."

Yelina laughed as she helped Ryan remove his coat. She smoothed her hands over it and smiled. "Is this the mysterious coat Jessica left in the hotel room Horatio was telling me about?"

Ryan chuckled and he pushed Lucy away with his foot. "As a matter of fact yes," he said. Lucy snapped at his ankle and Ryan jumped. "Ouch, Lucy!" The small dog's ears went flat and she whimpered away from Ryan. He sighed and leaned down to scratch her ear. "Why can't I stay mad at you?" he asked the dog.

Horatio looked at the pile of gifts Ryan had brought with him. Horatio noticed a jewelry box on top with Jessica's name on it.

"What's that, Ryan?" Horatio asked.

Ryan smiled sheepishly. "It's a present I bought for Jessica back when we were in the Keys. I saw it and knew she would love it. I hid it and I was going to give it to her for Christmas this year." Ryan paused momentarily, the tips of his ears turning red. "I just felt like it was only right that I bring it to the Caine family Christmas party."  
Horatio smiled at the young man. "That was incredibly thoughtful of you, Ryan. Can I see it?"

Ryan shyly opened the box to revel a silver bracelet. It had round silver pieces and mother of pearl pieces. It jingled lightly when Horatio lifted it from the box.

"Jessica's going to love it." Horatio said, "When she first told me she was dating this new guy she told me how he kept buying her jewelry. She jokingly asked me if that meant she had bad taste in fashion and he was trying to fix her up."

Ryan chuckled at Horatio's joke. "No, I just see these things and think of her…..I miss her so much, Horatio."

Horatio looked at the younger man. "She misses you, too, Ryan." Horatio hesitantly said, "She tells me every time she calls me how she wishes you were with her."  
"When is she coming home, H?"

"I wish I could tell you Ryan, but Jessie Bug refuses to tell me. She says it's too risky, and she can't dare put me in that kind of danger."

"I hope it's soon. I don't want to live another day without her." Ryan looked into Horatio's blue eyes, "But I'm going to have to."  
Horatio smiled and clapped his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "You would wait until the end of time for her, wouldn't you?"

Ryan nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, life without Jessica, well I can't really describe it. It's hard to remember what life before her was like. She's really become my world."

Horatio smiled and embraced the younger man. "You're going to make a fine husband for my daughter, Ryan Wolfe."

* * *

Yelina distributed the presents from under the Christmas tree. Ryan received a few from Horatio and Kyle and even one from Yelina and Ray Jr. Then Yelina pulled out a small package that was wrapped in paper no one had ever seen. A smile spread across Yelina's face as she read the card that was attached to it. She stood up and walked over to Ryan and held out the package.

"I think you're going to like this one," she said.

Ryan looked at the card and immediately recognized the handwriting. He pulled he card off and ripped it open.

_Ryan,_

_I miss you every day. Life without you is, well it's different. It's difficult to think of the days before you came into my life. Sometimes I feel lost without you beside me, but I promise some day we'll be together again. You are my world and my soul. I love you and I can't wait to see you again!_

_Love Always,  
Jessica_

_Ps- Rain check for that Chicago Christmas?_

Ryan felt a smile spread across his. He looked at the small package in his hand. It was wrapped in red paper with gold stars on it. Ryan recognized it as the same paper Jessica had used the year before for Christmas.

"Who is it from, Ryan?" Kyle asked.

Ryan felt himself choke as he answered. "It's from Jessica."

"Really?" Kyle said excitedly.

"Yeah, but I don't know how it got…." Ryan looked at Horatio, who gave him a wink.

"She sent it to me last month and asked me to give it to you here." Horatio said, "I don't know how she knew I invited you, since I never told her, but I learned a long time ago don't ask questions when it comes to Jessica."

"So are you just going to sit there and stare at it or are you going to open it?" Kyle asked.

Ryan's fingers fumbled a little as he pulled at the wrapping paper. He found a black box underneath the paper. He opened it up to find a silver Rolex watch inside. It had a mother of pearl face and a tiny diamond on the each of the hands. It was almost identical to the one that his uncle had given him when he graduated from the Florida State Police Academy. Ryan blinked a few times, feeling tears form in his eyes.

"But how did she know…" Ryan looked at Horatio again.

"Well maybe a little bird told her you broke your watch at a crime scene about two months ago and still haven't bought a new one," Horatio said with a smirk.

"Yeah, a frickin red bird," Ryan retorted. Everyone laughed at Ryan's joke.

"Well," Yelina said, "Put it on! She didn't send it just so you and Horatio could bicker."

Ryan pulled the watch out of its box and slid it onto his wrist. When he clasped it he felt something on the smooth surface of the clasp. Ryan turned his wrist over and noticed something engraved in the surface of the clasp.

_You are my soul. Without you I'm incomplete. J.E.S.C._

Ryan finally lost it; he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They silently slid down his cheeks. He felt someone sit next to him on the couch and a hand brush away a tear. Ryan turned and looked at Horatio smiling at him.

"You really love her, don't you?" Horatio asked him. Ryan silently nodded his head. Horatio reached his arm around Ryan's shoulders and pulled him against his body.

"It's just so hard being away from her., Ryan said.

"It hurts being away from the ones we love, but just remember the more you cry when you have to say good-bye the more you loved that person. She'll come back to us some day, Ryan. I promise this isn't the last we've heard from little Jessie Bug."

Ryan smiled. "Thank you, Horatio."

"Well that explains the coat," Horatio said.

"How so?" Ryan inquired.

"Well it snows in Chicago," Horatio explained, "Hence 'white Christmas.' You'll need one when you go." He smiled and winked at Ryan as Ryan felt the tips of his ears grow red.

Ryan sighed and leaned back into the couch. "You Caine folk are all the same; sneaky mind readers."

* * *

Ryan, Yelina, and Horatio were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee talking, while Ray Jr. and Kyle played video games in the living room. They were exchanging Christmas stories when Horatio looked at the card Jessica had sent Ryan.

"Ryan, what does she mean about 'Rain check for that Chicago Christmas'?"

Ryan felt his ears flush slightly and smiled. "Last year when we celebrated Christmas together we were walking along her beach and Jessica mentioned it was weird not having snow during Christmas since she's lived in the north most of her life. She told me sometimes she misses the snow. I asked her if she wanted to go to Chicago the next year to celebrate, so she could have a white Christmas again." Ryan sighed and felt his heart sink. "I hope where ever she is its snowing right now."

Horatio smiled. "I have to admit, the white Christmases were nice. Jessabelle and I were planning on actually going to Florida one year so we could have a green Christmas." Horatio's demeanor changed. "We never did get to. What I wouldn't give to have a white Christmas with my girls again."

"Dad, Aunt Yelina, Ryan, come quick! You have to see this!" they heard Kyle yell from the other room.

The three stood and walked into the living room. They found Kyle and Ray Jr. standing at the front door. They threw on their shoes and ran outside. Horatio, Yelina, and Ryan walked out the front door to find snow falling from the sky. They were giant, fluffy flakes that floated downwards in a mass. It had already started sticking to the grass as Kyle and Ray Jr. began running through it, waving their arms, acting like children.

"My god," Yelina said, "I don't think I've ever seen it snow in Miami."

Horatio hesitantly walked out onto the lawn. He looked up at the sky and smiled. He felt someone walk up next to him. Horatio turned to see Ryan standing next to him, snow scattered in his hair.

"I think it's her." Ryan said, "I think she sent the snow."

Horatio smiled, knowing what Ryan meant. He looked back at the sky and felt a tear run down his cheek. "Snow in Miami, yeah that sounds like something my Jessabelle would do."

Ryan looked up at the sky and smiled. He felt the tears fall as he closed his eyes. He could see her face and almost smell her. She smiled at him._ "Merry Christmas Ryan,"_ she said in his mind. "Merry Christmas Jessica," Ryan whispered.


	9. Unnatural Exposure

**I got the title and the idea for this chapter from a book I read awhile ago. ****I'll try to update quicker this time.** Enjoy!

* * *

Unnatural Exposure

* * *

Ryan ran after the men with Walter. Walter had the advantage of being able to take two of them because of his size, but Ryan was struggling, due slightly because of his small stature. He took off after the last suspect and chased him down an alley. He yelled for the man to stop and he refused. Ryan almost had him and grabbed his arm. The man turned and sprayed Ryan in the face with pepper spray and Ryan screamed and clawed at his face. The man ran off, leaving Ryan withering in pain on the ground. He heard Walter yell into his phone, stating he needed medical assistance, as he approached Ryan.

"Wolfe, what happened?"

"He just shot me in the eyes with pepper spray," Ryan hissed as he rubbed at his eyes.

"Are you alright?" Walter inquired as he helped the blind Ryan to his feet.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Ryan said, "It just burns like hell."

Horatio drove up to the scene to find paramedics pouring water onto Ryan's red and irritated face. "Ryan, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryan said again, "The guy sprayed me with pepper spray and got away."

"You don't have any allergies to pepper spray, do you, Officer Wolfe?" the paramedic inquired.

"No, not that I'm aware of," Ryan told him, "I just wish the burning would stop."

"It might take awhile depending on how much he sprayed you with and your sensitivity to the product," the paramedic informed him. "You should be fine in an hour or so. Can you open your eyes?"

Ryan's eyelids fluttered as he struggled to open them. He blinked a few times and looked around. His eyes were completely bloodshot and they watered lightly. "Yeah, but the light's really bright," he said as he closed his eyes again.

"Here, wear these," Horatio said, handing him his sunglasses.

"Are you sure, H?" Ryan hesitantly asked as he accepted the sunglasses from Horatio.

"Yes, I'll be fine," Horatio insisted.

Ryan placed the sunglasses on his face and slowly opened his eyes. "Much better," he muttered as he blinked. "How do I look?" he asked with a smile.

"Like a dork," Walter said. "H looks much better in them."

"Watch it, Wally," Ryan said, "That's my future father you're hitting on."

Walter's face flushed and he turned and walked away, muttering "That's mean," under his breath.

"Alright, let's get back to the lab," Horatio said, "We've got a lot of work to do."

"Damn, no getting out of this one," Ryan chuckled as he followed Horatio. "H, where's the Hummer? I can't see it."

"Over here, Ray Charles," Horatio chuckled.

"Hey, I'm not Ray Charles," Ryan laughed, "I so can't play piano, eye sight or not."

* * *

Horatio looked at Ryan perplexed as he walked into the layout room later that day. He was wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled up and his arms crossed tightly against his chest. He shivered slightly and sniffled, rubbing his nose with a tissue.

"Ryan, are you alright?" Horatio inquired.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryan responded in a scratchy voice, "I think I'm just getting a cold, that's all."

Horatio looked at Ryan's still bloodshot eyes and his flushed cheeks. He gently placed his hand on Ryan's cheek and then his neck. "Ryan, you're burning up," he said concerned, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I don't know," Ryan said in a small voice, "I'm cold and achy and my eyes burn and my nose won't stop running. To be honest, I feel like shit."

"You look terrible," Horatio said, "You need to go to a doctor. Come on, I'm taking you right now."

"H, we can't just leave the case now," Ryan protested.

"Ryan, we're no closer to figuring this out then we were five hours ago," Horatio insisted. "Now pack this up and let's go. I don't want you driving yourself with your eyes all screwed up."

"Fine, just let me drop these samples off to Travers before we go," Ryan said.

"What are they samples of?" Horatio inquired as they walked through the hall.

"Blood, soil, and I took a swab from the pepper spray can Walter recovered on one of the other suspects," Ryan explained, "We want to see if it matches the stuff we found on the victim."

"The victim was maced, too?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah and badly, too," Ryan said. "He makes my face right now look good."

Horatio chuckled and patted his shoulder. "That's my boy," he quietly said.

* * *

Dr. Brown looked into Ryan's throat and listened to his heart. He took his temperature and blood pressure, along with a throat cloture and some blood samples.

"Well, Mr. Wolfe, it looks like you have the flu," Dr. Brown said.

"But I was fine this morning," Ryan managed to say through his sore throat.

"The flu can hit hard at any given moment," Dr. Brown explained as he wrote down a prescription. "This should help. Unfortunately there isn't an antibiotic that can cure the flu, but this will help you get better faster. If you're not better in a week call me."

Ryan accepted the paper as he began to scratch his back. "Will you take a look at this for me while I'm here?" Ryan inquired, "It started to itch on the way here."

"Absolutely," Dr. Brown said as he walked around the table.

Horatio's phone rang and he excused himself into the hall. "Travers, what have you got for me?" he inquired as he answered.

"Horatio, we have a massive problem!" Travers loudly exclaimed.

Horatio could hear an alarm going off in the background and people screaming in panic. "Travers, what's going on?"

"That pepper spray Ryan had me analyze didn't just have mace in it," Travers explained, "There was also a live virus."

"What kind of virus, Travers?" Horatio asked as he walked back towards the room where Ryan and Dr. Brown were. "Like a flu virus? That H1N1 virus that's been going around?"

"Worse, something no one's seen for decades, maybe even centuries."

Horatio could hear the panic in Travers's voice as he spoke. "What is it, Travers?"

Travers was silent for a moment and Horatio heard him swallow nervously. "Small pox," he quietly said, "There was a live sample of the small pox virus in that can."

Panic swept through Horatio's veins and he looked into the small window on the door of the examination room. Ryan had taken off his shirt and was shivering on the table. Long streaks of a reddish colored rash were exposed on his skin and Dr. Brown looked towards the door. Their eyes met and both knew what it meant.

* * *

Ryan watched as the men in the biohazard suits pushed him down a bright hall. He had an oxygen mask on and he felt like his body was on fire. His throat felt like it was swollen shut and he couldn't form the words to ask his questions. They were yelling to each other and other people Ryan couldn't see. His heart pounded as he became more and more frightened.

"Lift him onto the bed, on the count of three. Ready? One, two, three!"

"Get an IV in, he needs more fluids!"

"He needs something for the fever before his brain fries!"

"Get a vaccination in here!"

"But he's already infected."

"It can't do any harm."

"It might even help him at this point."

"Doctor, do you want us to give him an antibiotic?"

"You can try. I don't know if anything will work. Antibiotics don't kill viruses."

Someone cut through Ryan's shirt with a pair of scissors and cold, wet clothes were thrown onto his burning skin. Something sharp in his arm made him pull away, but he was too weak and his fingers barely twitched.

It was in that moment Ryan realized he had something more than just the flu.

* * *

Hundreds of people were filed into the Center for Disease Control in Ft. Lauderdale. MDPD employees and a dozen staff members from Miami Family Practice. Each was given a small pox vaccination, in hopes they wouldn't fall ill to the highly contagious and deadly virus. The Miami Dade Crime Lab was quarantined and blocked off until the building could properly be cleaned. Dozens of lab workers and CSIs worried about evidence being compromised and killers going loose because of the virus out break.

Horatio sat on the bed in the quarantine room that he would be inhabiting for the next three days. He watched the nurse clad in a haz mat suit carefully make a half inch incision on his left shoulder and drop an eye dropper full of the vaccine into the incision. She placed a piece of gauze and a band aide over the incision and discarded the eye dropper in the trash.

"Why can't I have a Spiderman band aide?" Horatio asked, "They let me have one when I got my last tetanus shot."

"Sorry Lieutenant, no Spiderman band aides here," the nurse blandly said.

"What about Green Lantern?" Horatio continued as he pulled the scrub shirt over his head.

"Lieutenant, you should be at least thankful that we're allowing you to wear scrubs instead of a hospital gown," the nurse said annoyed.

"Well sorry my lab discovered a live small pox virus before it wiped out all of Miami," Horatio sarcastically said. "Didn't mean to make your job easier."

* * *

Horatio flipped through the channels on the TV in his room. He was bored out of his mind and his head hurt. He had been quarantined for two days and was showing none of the symptoms of small pox. He wanted to see Ryan but the doctors refused to let him out of his room.

A nurse in a haz mat suit walked in and Horatio sighed and set down the remote. She hooked up her airline to a flexible blue tube hanging from the ceiling.

"How are you doing today, Lieutenant Caine?" she asked him as she began the first of her daily check ups.

"Fine as usually, Kim," Horatio said. "When can I see my son?"

"Lieutenant, Officer Wolfe isn't your son, so I'm sorry to say you can't see him until you're done with your quarantine time."

"Has anyone else gotten sick?" Horatio inquired as she shined a light into his eyes.

"Only Wolfe so far," Kim said. "He's the only one with any symptoms. Your lab brought in the can of pepper spray and we've been running some tests on it."

"Have you found anything?" Horatio asked.

"Well we did manage to contact the manufacture and have them recall all of their product." Kim explained, "There have been a few other cans with the virus in it, but not many."

"Do you think this was a biological attack?" Horatio asked her.

Kim looked at him with worried eyes. "I don't know, Lieutenant, that's not my job."

"You're right, it's my job," Horatio said as he leaned back in his bed again.

* * *

Horatio walked through the halls of the CDC, finally free after three grueling days. He found Eric waiting in the hall.

"H," he said as Horatio approached, "They're allowing me to see Ryan, too. Have you heard anything about his condition?"

"No Eric, I haven't," Horatio said disappointed. "I begged them to let me see him but they refused."

A CDC specialist led them into the room where they could suit up in their biohazard suits. They followed him through a door into a small room. He looked at them and spoke.

"You cannot touch him with your bare hands or have any skin exposed." He explained, "You need to hook up your airline to an oxygen line hanging from the ceiling, they'll be the blue ones you've seen your nurses and doctors using. You can't bring anything to him or take anything out."

"We understand," Horatio said, "Can we see him now?"

The CDC specialist nodded his head. "He's through these doors."

They walked through the set of double doors and into a small quarantine room. Two nurses and a doctor huddled around a bed, running tests and taking samples. Ryan was lying on the bed, looking half dead. His eyes were bloodshot and watery and his skin tacky with sweat. He was pale and looked thinner than he had three days prior. He was visibly shaking as the monitor read 102.4 degrees. But it was the rash that stuck out the most.

Most of the CDC workers had only heard or seen pictures of the small pox rash, but there it was, a living, breathing example on Ryan's skin. Long reddish colored patches streaked his skin. Bubbly welts were present on his body amongst the rash.

Ryan turned his head towards Horatio as he walked in. He looked up at him with pain in his eyes.

"I'm going to die, H," he croaked.

Horatio shook his head and held his hand through the glove on his suit. "No you're not, Ryan," he reassuringly said, "You're going to be just fine."

Ryan's eyes lolled shut and he slowly opened them again. "I don't feel that way," he whispered as he fell back to sleep.

Horatio's hand shook as he lowered Ryan's arm back to the bed. He looked at Ryan's sleeping face and felt his eyes begin to water. The CDC specialist was leading them out when Ryan suddenly cried out.

"Jessie!" he screamed, his eyes snapping open and his body lurching forward. "Jessie, help me!"

The nurses carefully leaned him back into his bed and soothingly whispered to him. Ryan cried and struggled against them. "Jessie!" he cried out as the tears ran down his face.

* * *

Eric and Horatio shed their haz mat suits in a sterile room after walking through the three part sterilization shower.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant," the CDC specialist named Kevin said, "That's the best he's looked since he got here."

Horatio nodded his head and fought off the tears he felt threatening to fall. "Is that supposed to reassure me that he's going to be alright?" Horatio quietly asked.

Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, but that's the best I can do."

"Well you're doing a terrible job," Horatio said as he walked out of the room.

Eric watched him leave and felt his heart twist. "I'm sorry about him," he quietly said, "He and Ryan have a special relationship."

"Really?" the CDC worker inquired, "How so?"

"Ryan's dating Horatio's daughter, Jessica. Horatio's become rather attached to Ryan in the last few months."

"Jessica? Did you say her name was Jessica?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because Ryan's been screaming for someone named Jessie ever since he got here."

* * *

Ryan watched the people walk around his room. His eyes burned but he knew if he kept them open he would appear. He would show his self and reassure Ryan that the pain would end soon.

Sure enough he appeared at the foot of Ryan's bed. He looked at him with his sad brown eyes and watched him suffer. Ryan wanted to ask him to end it all. Ryan didn't know if he could do that, but Ryan figured he could do something.

There had to be a reason he kept appearing.

* * *

Horatio watched Ryan through the glass of his hospital room in the CDC. It had been a week since Ryan was diagnosed with small pox and his condition wasn't getting any better.

The doctor walked up to him and looked at him with a concerned expression. "Lieutenant," he said.

Horatio didn't turn to face him. His gaze remained fixed on Ryan as he spoke. "How is he?"

"Not good, Lieutenant," the doctor said.

"How much time does he have?" Horatio inquired, his voice shaking slightly.

"Not long, days, maybe even hours. I'm sorry, Lieutenant, we've done all we could."

Horatio felt himself shake all over. His heart twisted at the thought of what he had to do.

* * *

Ryan struggled with every breath he took. His lungs rattled and his throat burned. His skin itched but he didn't have the energy to even move his arms. He was shirtless and was lying in his bed in just a pair of scrub pants. He started to shake and tried to pull the blanket over him but he was too weak. He felt tears run down his face and wished the pain would go away.

A nurse walked in but Ryan couldn't see her because he couldn't even open his eyes. He felt a gloved hand touch his forehead and his chest.

"How are you feeling today, Ryan?" the familiar voice asked him.

Ryan's eyes fluttered open and he looked at the white suit. His throat felt like it was swollen shut. His arm shook as he raised it to his face. _"Bad!"_ he signed to her.

"He said he's feels bad," Horatio's voice sounded from somewhere on an intercom.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Wolfe," the nurse said as she pulled the blanket over his bare chest. "You have someone who wants to talk to you."

Ryan looked at her through squinted eyes. _"Who?"_

"He wants to know who," Horatio sounded again.

The nurse smiled at him. "A young lady who's missed you very much." She walked over to the phone and hit a button. "Ok you're on," she said out loud.

There was silence for a moment and then Ryan heard a small sob. "Ryan?"

Ryan took in a deep straggled breath. "Jessica?" he croaked out, "Is that you, love?"

"Yeah Ryan, it's me, pumpkin," Jessica small voice said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm dying, Jessica," Ryan managed. "I have small pox. I'm dying, Jess. I'm sorry."

"Ryan, I'm coming home right now," Jessica said. "I need to be with you."

"No Jess, don't come back now," Ryan gasped, "Stay where ever you are."

"No Ryan, I'm coming home tonight."

"No you're not," Ryan quietly demanded. "I don't want you to see me this way. I want you to remember me the way I was, not this horrible thing I've become. I want you to stay where you are. I want you to stay safe and healthy. I'm begging you, Jessica, please don't come home until my funeral. I don't want you to see me die."

Jessica's voice was small and weak on the other end as she cried. "Please don't leave me, Ryan, I can't live without you."

"I'm sorry Jessica," Ryan whispered, "I'm sorry I'm giving up. I don't want to leave you but I don't think I have a choice. I love you Jessica. Don't ever forget me."

Jessica's sobs were a little louder as she listened. "I love you, too, pumpkin," she weakly whispered.

"Good-bye Jessica," Ryan said, "You're the greatest woman I've ever met and I love you so much."

"I love you Ryan," Jessica said, "I'll never forget you as long as I live."

Ryan heard the line click and a dial tone ring out as his eyes began to drift shut. He looked at the end of his bed and saw him standing there, his brown eyes full of sorrow.

* * *

Eric walked up to find Horatio standing at the window that looked into Ryan's room. His eyes were red and he sniffed.

"H, how's he doing?" Eric inquired.

Horatio shook his head and his bottom lip quivered. "I called Jessica," he quietly said, "I had to tell her. The doctors let her talk to Ryan. She tried to come home but he refused. He doesn't want her to see him like this, all horrid and dying."

"How much time does he have?" Eric quietly asked.

A single tear ran down Horatio's cheek. "Hours, a day at the most," he said.

Eric reached out and gently touched Horatio's arm. Horatio finally broke down and the tears started streaming down his face. Eric pulled him into his arms and held Horatio as he cried.

* * *

Ryan slowly opened his eyes and looked towards the end of his bed. He was standing there again, watching him. Ryan's arms shook as he pulled himself up to get a better look at him.

"Why are you here?" he croaked out.

He shook his head and vanished. Ryan's head pounded and anger filled him as he stared at the spot where he had been standing. He screamed out an animalistic sound at the frustration of not knowing anything anymore. Tears streamed down his face as he cried from the pain.

"Jesse!" he screamed, "Come back Jesse!"

* * *

Horatio watched Ryan with tears streaming down his face as Ryan cried out Jessica's name. He was in so much pain and he was so weak.

The monitors hooked up to Ryan started beeping erratically as Ryan fell back onto his bed. He started shaking uncontrollably as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Suited nurses and doctor rushed into the room and began yelling at each other as they worked on Ryan, trying to save his life. They began injecting him with different fluids and placed an oxygen mask over his face. Then Ryan's body stopped moving and a long monotone rang out from his heart monitor.

The doctor stopped and looked at the monitor. He nodded at one of the nurses and she turned and began unplugging equipment. Another nurse brought in a thick orange body bag. They began wrapping the bag around Ryan's body and he disappeared from sight. They zipped it up and Ryan was gone.

Horatio had his arm leaning against the glass with his forehead resting against it, sobbing uncontrollably. Eric lifted his cell phone to his ear and listened to the ringing.

"Jessica," he practically whispered, "I'm so sorry."


	10. Running

**Ok, so I tried to update sooner, but for some reason my account wasn't working. I could log in, send messages, read other ficts, but I couldn't update. Sorry for the great delay.**

* * *

Running

* * *

It was cold and Ryan's head hurt. He couldn't see anything because it was so dark. He looked out into the distance. Someone was walking towards him with a glowing light behind him. Ryan walked towards them. Then he recognized the man. "Jesse," he said to himself.

Ryan ran towards his friend, his heart pounding. Jesse ran towards him but stopped just short of him. Then the pounding in his chest stopped. Ryan placed his hand on his chest and felt the silence inside him. There was no heart beat anymore. Ryan could see pain in Jesse's eyes. He walked towards Jesse but he blocked him.

"No!" Jesse said, "Go back!"

"Jesse, what's wrong with you?" Ryan asked defensively.

"Go back! Go back now!"

"Jesse, let me through!"

"No Ryan, it's not your time! Go back!"

"Please Jesse, you don't understand!"

"No, I do understand, Ryan," Jesse said, his eyes burning into Ryan's. "I've been watching you this whole time. You're sick, you're in pain, you want it to end, but it's not your time! You need to go back!"

"Jesse, leave me alone!" Ryan tried to push past him but Jesse grabbed his arm and dragged him back. "Jesse, let me go!"

"Is that what you told Jessica?!" Ryan froze at Jesse's words. He looked at his friend and could see anger and pain burning in Jesse's eyes. "She's going to kill herself, Ryan. When she finds out you're dead she's going to take her own life! Go back and live! Not just for you, but for Jessica and Oliver! She needs you, Ryan! Don't let her go like this. Please Ryan, we both love her."  
Ryan looked at Jesse stunned. "She's really going to kill herself?"

"Yes, but if you go back now you can save her." Jesse explained, "Go back and live for her and for you. You'll be in pain for awhile but everything's going to get better. You're going to make it through this. I promise, Ryan, you're going to live. I'll help you through this, that's what friends are for."

Ryan smiled at Jesse and hugged him. "Thank you, Jesse."

"You need to go now though," Jesse said, "They're pronouncing you dead right now."  
Ryan looked at him confused. "How long have I been dead?"

"About three minutes. Now go!"

"Where do I go?" Ryan asked as he started back peddling.

"That way!" Jesse yelled, pointing behind Ryan. "Just keep running! It's going to suck but just keep running!"

"Thanks Jesse!" Ryan yelled as he turned and ran. A thought came to mind and he stopped and looked back at Jesse. "Who's Oliver?"

"Just keep going! They've already unhooked all the IVs and monitors! You're on your way to the morgue!"

"Oh shit!" Ryan exclaimed, "Tell me later!"

"Will do buddy!" Jesse yelled with a smile.

Ryan ran. He ran as fast as he could. He felt the warmth leave the room and his head started to pound again. His body itched and his skin felt like it was on fire as the pounding in his chest restarted with a thud. He wanted to stop but he remembered what Jesse had said. He had to keep going. He had to go back for Jessica.

The burning wouldn't stop. He couldn't move. Ryan gasped for air and his eyes shot open. He couldn't see anything, his vision was blurred. He tried to grasp handfuls of the sheets but there was nothing there. He clawed at thick plastic surrounding him and screamed. At least he thought he was screaming. He heard voices and clattering noises. His voice stuck out though. He could hear him screaming even through the glass. He was pounding his fist against the glass and screaming.

"_He's alive! Someone get in here, damn it! He's alive!"_

* * *

Horatio cried huge heaving sobs. He looked through the window at the orange body bag before he could no longer stand it and had to look away. He was gone. The only man his daughter had ever loved and had brought her true happiness was gone. He hadn't felt this kind of grief since the death of his wife.

Horatio looked back at the body bag. He thought it was the tears obscuring his vision but when he saw the bag move again he knew he was right. Horatio rubbed the tears away and watched as the bag continued to move, like something was trying to get out.

"He's alive!" Horatio yelled. He looked up and down the halls to see CDC workers walking around. He slammed his fist against the glass to get their attention and screamed as loud as he could. "Someone get in here, damn it! He's alive!"

No one responded. Horatio watched as the body bag began thrashing about. No one was coming. Horatio did the only thing he could.

Horatio threw the door to Ryan's room open and rushed to the bed. He unzipped the body bag and tore it apart. Ryan gasped loudly and sat up, heaving in gulps of air. His entire body was shaking as Horatio held him in his arms and cried.

* * *

Eric watched in shock as the body bag began moving. He watched Horatio open the door, exposing everyone to the live virus. He tore the bag open and Ryan sat up breathing and shaking.

"Jessica, I'm going to call you back," he quietly said.

"Eric, what's going on?" Jessica hysterical voice yelled.

"Ryan's alive," Eric barely muttered.

"Alive? I thought you said he was dead!"

"I don't know how but he's alive, Jess. I need to call you back. I'm sorry, I'll call you as soon as I know something."

Eric hung his phone up and continued to stare. He pressed the sleeve of his jacket over his mouth and nose and watched as doctors in haz mat suits rushed in. They slammed the door and pulled Horatio away, escorting him out of the room as he continued to struggle. They began hooking Ryan back up to monitors and pulled an oxygen mask over his face. They took samples and stats and checked his vitals.

Eric stood there stunned. He hardly noticed the CDC worker in the biohazard suit as he began escorting Eric down the hall. He said something to Eric but Eric didn't hear it; he was too astonished by what he had just witnessed.

"He's alive," he whispered to himself, "I can't believe it, he's alive."

* * *

Horatio sat on his stupid hospital bed, in the stupid CDC hospital wing, in stupid quarantine, again. The stupid CDC workers stuck him back in quarantine just because he ran into Ryan's room to save him from suffocating inside the airtight body bag. It just didn't seem fair.

A CDC nurse walked in with a tray of food for him. Horatio stared at the cup of green jello and sighed. "Can't I have pudding?" he asked her as he picked up his fork to pick at the turkey she brought him. "I hate green jello."

"Sorry, Lieutenant," the nurse said, "But jello is easier for your body to digest."

"I don't believe that bullshit," Horatio said. "I think jello's probably harder on your body because it's processed and made from non-natural ingredients."

"I think pudding is the same way," the nurse said as she began taking down Horatio's stats.

"At least it's tastier," Horatio said. He picked up the cup of jello and examined it. He reached out and dropped it into the biohazard container next to his bed. "Nasty jello," he muttered.

* * *

Ryan looked around the room. His body was no longer burning but his head still pounded and his skin itched like crazy. Another nurse came in and began taking his stats again. She looked at him confused as she swabbed his throat.

"Your throat's inflamed," she commented, "Does it hurt?"

"Yeah," Ryan crocked out, "Really bad."

"Well it almost looks like strep so I'm sending in a cloture," she said. "Are you hungry?" Ryan sat there for a moment thinking. He felt tired and weak but couldn't figure out if he was hungry. "How about I bring you some soup?" the nurse inquired, "You could probably use some food right now."

Ryan nodded his head as his eyes lolled shut. "Can I sleep for a little while first?" he asked, "I'm really tired."

The nurse smiled and lowered his bed back down and gently covered him with the blanket. He momentarily expected her to kiss his forehead before he remembered it wasn't Jessica. He suddenly missed her again and wished he could talk to her again and tell her he had died but came back for her.

* * *

"I don't know how it happened, Jess," Eric explained as he chomped on his lunch in his hospital room. "He died, right there, in that bed, and then he was suddenly alive again."

"Are you sure he was dead?" Jessica's small voice sounded on the other end of the phone.

"Well I'm not sure but I think the doctor that pronounced him and had him bagged was pretty certain he was dead."

"They pronounced him dead?" Jessica quietly asked.

"Yeah, like wrote it in his file and pulled the plug and everything," Eric explained as he shoveled green jello into his mouth. "I mean they were getting ready to take his body to the morgue for an autopsy. He was in the bag, nothing hooked up to him, no monitors or IV. He was dead, Jessica. He was just plain dead."

Jessica was silent for a moment. Eric listened to her small sobs as she continued to cry. "He's alive," she practically whispered.

Eric smiled and wished more than anything he could hug her at that moment. "Yeah Jess, he's alive."


	11. Skinny Jeans

**Just because it took so long I'll let y'all have two chapters. ;)**

* * *

Skinny Jeans

* * *

Horatio collected his personal things from the office in the Center for Disease Control. He followed the CDC specialist, Kevin, down the hall. He was given a lab coat and a mask to wear as they entered the lab.

"Alright so here's what we found," Kevin explained, "The can of pepper spray your lab sent in contained a live small pox virus, but it wasn't a normal virus."

"What do you mean?" Horatio inquired as Kevin lifted a frozen vial from a freezer of dry ice.

"Well the virus was altered," Kevin explained, "It seems someone tried to make the virus stronger but what they really ended up doing was destroying the virus's ability to reproduce."

"You mean," Horatio began, "The virus can't multiple like a normal virus?"

"Exactly, once the virus infects someone it can't infect anyone else," Kevin continued. "It becomes sterile."

"So it's not contagious?" Horatio inquired.

"Correct, once the virus tries to leave the body it dies. It looses its vitality because it no longer has the DNA support from its host."

"So what does that mean for Ryan?" Horatio asked.

Kevin looked at him with an intrigued expression. "Well it seems that when he died the virus also died," he explained. "We've ran the tests, we've taken samples, we've done the analysis. I can't believe I'm saying this but the virus is gone."

"You mean…" Horatio slowly said.

"Yes," Kevin said, "Ryan Wolfe no longer has small pox. He survived and defeated the small pox virus."

* * *

Ryan's hand shook as he carefully and slowly spooned the soup into his mouth. It was warm and soothed his throat and slowly satisfied the terrible hunger that had overtaken his body. He stopped after just four bites and had to rest. He was so tired and weak. He looked at the end of his bed and looked at Jesse.

"I'm kind of jealous right now," Jesse said.

"Why's that?" Ryan inquired.

"You can't really eat once you're dead," Jesse explained, "And I kind of miss food. It is nice not having to stop and eat but I really liked food."

Ryan chuckled as he picked up his spoon. "Well get ready to feel the hate, Cardoza," Ryan chuckled, "Because my nurse said if I can finish this I can have pudding."

Jesse laughed and shook his head. "Just don't let Horatio know," he said, "He was so pissed because the nurse wouldn't give him pudding."

Ryan laughed but quickly stopped when he began coughing extremely hard. He looked at Jesse and smiled. "I still win," he quietly said, "I survived and I get pudding."

* * *

Horatio smiled behind the paper mask the CDC had given him as he walked into Ryan's room. It had been a week since Ryan died and returned back to life. Ryan was thin and pale and wrapped in a thick blanket.

"How are you feeling, Ryan?" Horatio asked him as he sat in the chair next to Ryan's bed.

Ryan's face poked out from where it was buried beneath the blanket. "I'm cold," he mumbled.

Horatio chuckled and looked at Ryan's hazel eyes, still shining with life through the pale skin and red rimmed eyelids. "You feeling better I take it?"

"I'm freezing and always hungry but no one wants to give me food that actually tastes like something other than salt," Ryan grumbled. "How is that better?"

"You're not dying," Horatio said, "That's an improvement."

Ryan chuckled and curled up under his blanket. "Can I talk to Jessica again?" he quietly asked.

Horatio shook his head. "She's refusing to answer any of our calls right now," he explained. "All I can tell you is that she's alive and knows you're alive and well. In fact she's ecstatic to know you're alive, but I think she needs some time to process what happened. She's still pretty shaken up."

Ryan groaned and buried his head beneath his blanket again. Horatio could hear him sniffle, and knew he was crying. Horatio gently pulled the blanket back and looked at Ryan's torn face. "Three more days and the CDC doctors said you can leave," he quietly said. "Then you can call her all you want to talk to her."

Ryan gave him a weak smile. He reached his hand out and Horatio gently grasped it. "Thanks Dad," he whispered.

* * *

Ryan's legs shook under his weight as he emerged from Horatio's house and out onto the patio. He pulled the hood up on his sweatshirt and placed the red aviator sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. Lucy snorted and snapped playfully at his heels, happy to see him again. He sat down in a chair and crossed his legs as Lucy jumped into his lap. He curled up with the dog, willingly accepting the warmth from her body.

"Wolfe!" Eric exclaimed as he ran outside. He clobbered Ryan from the chair and to the ground, hugging him tightly. "Aw man, I've missed you!"

Ryan chuckled as Lucy alternated between licking Ryan and Eric's face. "What, you didn't get enough of watching me in the hospital?"

"I didn't actually get to talk you," Eric said as he stood up, helping Ryan to his feet. "It was mostly me crying over the fact that you were dying."

"You cried about me dying?" Ryan asked.

"Well yeah, you're my best friend and, well, you're kind of like family."

Ryan smiled and hugged his friend. "Thanks Eric," he whispered.

"Ryan baby!" Alexx exclaimed as she hugged Ryan, "Oh baby, you're alive! Oh dear, but you're skinny as hell." She commented as she held Ryan's arms from his body and lifted his shirt to look at his thin body. "My god, we need to get some weight back on you."

"Yeah, Paulie said he won't touch up my tats until I put on ten pounds," Ryan chuckled as he adjusted his shirt.

"My god, you could play those ribs like those like a xylophone," Natalia chuckled as she, Calleigh, and Walter walked outside.

"Hey, give me a break," Ryan chuckled, "I've only been out of the hospital for a few hours. And you know what they feed you there? Soup; soup, jello, and pudding. No real food."

"They gave you pudding?" Horatio asked as he walked out with a plate of food. "Those nurses wouldn't give me any." He handed Ryan the plate and smiled. "Eat up boy, Jess isn't into little boys."

"A veggie burger?" Ryan said as he examined his food. "Still no real food."

"Veggie burgers are better for you than real beef," Horatio said. "Besides I don't think eating something like a cheeseburger would be the best idea right now. You've ate almost nothing for two weeks. You need to start small and work your way up."

Ryan sighed and chomped into the veggie burger. He moaned when the taste hit his tongue and quickly took another bite. "Ok, this is amazing!" he exclaimed, "I take it back. I'll have another."

Horatio chuckled and patted his shoulder. "Why don't you get through that one first slim? If you can finish it I'll gladly make you another."

"Deal!" Ryan exclaimed as he continued eating.

* * *

Ryan stretched his arms and crawled into the bed of Horatio's guest room. He laid there feeling more exhausted than he had in a long time. Something caught his eye and he smiled at the sight of Jesse Cardoza standing at the end of his bed. He chuckled and shook his head.

"You tricked me," he quietly said, "You knew Jessica would never take her own life, but you told me that knowing I'd go back, didn't you?"

Jesse smiled at him. "Yeah I kind of lied, sorry bud."

Ryan smiled and slowly closed his eyes. "You win this time, Cardoza," he mumbled as he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Ryan stood in his bedroom back in his condo. He dug through the dresser and closet, trying to find a pair of jeans that wouldn't fall off his thin body. He pulled on his smallest pair and looked at how his hip bones protruded through his skin and his jeans hung low. Ryan tugged at them and sighed when they slid back down to their original resting place.

Ryan sighed and continued to dig through his clothes. He picked up a pair of Jessica's jeans and looked them over. He smiled and pulled them on. He laughed when he actually managed to zip them up. Ryan stood in front of the full length mirror and laughed at the sight of himself in Jessica's small jeans.

Ryan ran down the hall to Jessica's studio and quickly began taking pictures of himself, posing in all sorts of ways. He attached several of them in an email and sent them to Jessica. Moments later he dialed her number and hoped she would answer.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice mumbled in his ear.

"Jessica?" Ryan quietly said, afraid he had wakened her.

"Ryan," Jessica's voice sounded again, "How are you, pumpkin?"

"I'm doing better," Ryan said with a smile. "I'm out of the hospital now."

"Good, that's good," Jessica said. Ryan heard her shift in bed and a male voice say something. "It's Ryan," he heard her quietly say to the other person. "Greg says hi," Jessica mumbled into the phone.

"Greg? You mean Greg Sanders?" Ryan inquired.

"Yeah, Greg Sanders," Jessica said with a yawn.

"Jess, were you sleeping?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I work the grave shift so your four o'clock in the afternoon is my two o'clock in the morning."

"Oh, got it," Ryan said, understanding her explanation. "Why's Greg there?"

"We were cuddling," Jessica muttered. "I had a nightmare so Greg was holding me so I felt safe."

"Awww, Jessie," Ryan quietly said, "I'm sorry. I wish I was there for you."

"It's ok," Jessica said in her sleepy voice, "I'm doing alright. Did you need something?"

"Yes," Ryan said, remembering the original reason he called, "I sent you an email. You need to read it."

"Ok," Jessica mumble, "Greg can you get my computer?" Ryan heard Greg's familiar quirky voice say something and listened to more rustling of bedding. "Thanks G," Jessica replied. "Ok, yup here it is." There was a moment of silence before Jessica spoke again. "What in the world is this?"

"Me," Ryan said with a smirk, "Wearing _your_ jeans."

Jessica laughed and Ryan heard Greg's familiar laugh, also. "Oh my gosh, you have lost weight," she said. "I think I need to come home and fatten you up."

"I think I would love that," Ryan smiled. "Why don't you do that right now?"

"Sorry pumpkin, not yet," Jessica chuckled. "But thank you for the pictures. It really makes me happy to see you again."

"You're welcome Jessie," Ryan quietly said. "I miss you, love."

"I miss you, too, Ryan," Jessica said. "I love you, pumpkin."

"I love you, too, Jessie Belle," Ryan said. "Please come home soon."

"I think I might," Jessica chuckled, "If I don't you might wear out my jeans."

Ryan laughed and smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time in weeks.


	12. Dr Smith

Dr. Smith

* * *

Horatio stretched his arms above his head as he climbed from his bed. He scratched his head and slowly shuffled towards the bathroom. After a quick shower and shave he wandered back into his bedroom and got dressed. He shuffled down the stairs and into his kitchen, finding the pot of coffee waiting for him on the counter. He poured himself a cup as he picked his cell phone off the counter where he had left it charging overnight. As he drank his coffee he noticed he had a voicemail. He dialed the number for his voicemail box and listened to the automatic voice as the message began to play.

"_Lieutenant Caine, this is Sara Sidle from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I need to you call me back as soon as possible. We have evidence that your daughter may be in Las Vegas."_

Horatio felt his heart stop and restart with a thud. He quickly replayed the message and listened to it again. He jotted down the number the woman recited at the end and felt his pulse pound. He looked at the number before he made his decision. He dialed the number saved in his phone and listened to it ring.

"Willows," the female voice on the other end stated.

"Catherine, its Horatio Caine," Horatio said, "Did your CSI really find my daughter?"

Catherine was silent for a moment before she spoke again. "Yes, CSI Sidle found evidence that your daughter has been in Las Vegas for a very long time."

"How long?" Horatio inquired as he climbed the stairs to the second floor.

"Almost five months," Catherine nearly whispered.

"Do you know what she's been doing?" Horatio asked as he pulled his suitcase from the hall closet.

Catherine was silent again. Horatio could detect her uneasiness as she thought out her words. "She's been working as a CSI for the grave shift for the Las Vegas Crime Lab," she quietly said.

Horatio stopped dead in his tracks as he opened the suitcase on top of his mattress. "But I thought you said she wasn't in Las Vegas."

"Well here's the thing," Catherine began, "Dr. Jessica Caine wasn't in Las Vegas. However, Dr. Holly Smith has been working hard as my newest CSI."

* * *

Ryan practically threw his suitcase into the back of Horatio's car and climbed into the front seat. "Jessica's really in Vegas?" Ryan asked him.

Horatio's face tightened as frustration played across his features. His grip constricted around the wheel. "Apparently," he whispered in a harsh tone, "She's been living under an assumed name, Dr. Holly Smith, working for the crime lab for almost five months."

Ryan sighed and stared out the window. "I can't believe this," he whispered. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. He stopped when he got to the name he had been thinking of.

'What the hell, Greg? Why didn't you tell me Jessica was in Vegas?'

Ryan hit the send button and stared at the screen intensely. Sure enough a new message appeared and Ryan tapped the screen to open it.

'She said she was hiding from someone and didn't want anyone to know.'

'Well telling me would have been a good thing. ):'

'Why? So you could reveal her to the world and put her in more danger?'

Ryan grunted in frustration and threw the phone to the ground.

"Don't break that phone, Mr. Wolfe," Horatio said. "I know for a fact it's not in your budget to buy a new one and your contract isn't up for another year."

* * *

Ryan and Horatio were escorted into the Las Vegas Crime Lab by Catherine Willows. They walked down the hall towards Catherine's office as she spewed apology after apology.

"I'm really sorry about this, Horatio," she said again. "Had I'd known I would have called you. It's just that your daughter doesn't look a thing like you and it never crossed my mind that she wasn't really who she said she was. She had all the credentials and the diplomas and every piece of identification was authentic."

"Jessica's a master computer hacker," Horatio explained as Catherine handed them each a cup of coffee. "Everything she gave you would have passed as being authentic. And she doesn't look like me because she's adopted."

"Well that explains a lot," Catherine sighed. "But how does she have your eyes?"

"Kidney transplant when she was fourteen," Horatio said, "Her eyes changed from green to blue."

"Interesting," Catherine commented, "I've heard of that happening."

"Hey Greg," a man's voice sounded from the hall, "I thought you were helping with DNA today, not drinking coffee in Catherine's office."

Someone grabbed Ryan's shoulder and he turned to look at a rather nerdy looking man. He was about Ryan's height with graying hair that was comb to the left. He looked at Ryan confused with gray eyes.

"I'm sorry," he quietly said, "You're not who I thought you were."

Ryan looked at him with a perplexed expression. "Hodges, you thought he was me?" another male voice sounded. Greg walked into Catherine's office, staring at the man. His eyes lit up at the sight of Ryan and Horatio. "Ryan Wolfe, Lieutenant Caine," he quietly said nervously.

"Greg Sanders," Ryan said in a cold voice.

Hodges looked from Greg to Ryan and back again. "I'm going to," he stuttered, "I have trace evidence I need to process." He ducked out of Catherine's office and down the hall without looking back.

Ryan stared Greg down, anger evident in his eyes. Greg looked at him with his hands shoved in the pockets of jeans, shoulder hunched forward, staring at his feet nervously.

"I see I'm not the only one pissed at you, Greg," Catherine said. She looked at Horatio and then at Ryan's angry expression. "So you're Ryan," she said, leaning against her desk. "Holly- well rather Jessica's told us quite a bit about you."

Ryan looked at her hard, trying his best to soften his expression. "Jess told you about me?"

"Yes, but she never used last names, come to think of it she never even mentioned her father had a first name." Catherine rolled her eyes. "I still can't believe I fell for her tricks."

"She wasn't trying to trick anyone, Catherine," Greg suddenly interjected.

"Shut your mouth, Greg," Catherine snapped back at him. "I don't want to hear a word from you; harvesting a fugitive, more or less, for five months. I _should_ have you arrested for obstruction of justice but I don't think being stupid is a crime."

"Jessica's not a fugitive," Ryan snapped at her. He calmed himself down and tried to relax. "She's just missing, that's all."

"A missing person of interest," Catherine read from the paper in her hand. "It says here she's wanted because she's the only witness in a murder investigation." She looked at Horatio. "What murder did she witness?"

Horatio sighed and looked at the cup of coffee in his hand before he brought his eyes up to Catherine's. "Her own," he whispered.

* * *

Horatio and Ryan followed Catherine downstairs to the holding cells in the LVPD building.

"Is there a reason my daughter's being held in a cell like some kind of criminal?" Horatio inquired.

"Well we've kind of realized that Jessica's a flight risk," Catherine explained as she signed a form with the officer on duty. "From what I hear she fled Miami, Germany, Washington DC, and Philadelphia without a trace. We didn't want to take any chances so we had her placed in a private cell with an officer guarding her. I promise no handcuffs though."

They walked down the stony gray hall until they reached the last cell. Catherine's jaw dropped when she saw the young uniform lying on the ground unconscious with her hands cuffed around one of the bars. "I need a medic in here!" Catherine yelled. "Mitch, open this cell now!"

The African-American uniform that had been walking with them unlocked the cell and he and Catherine rushed in.

"Becka!" Mitch yelled, shaking the uniform's shoulders, "Becka wake up!"

Horatio stepped in and knelt to the ground. He grasped the young woman's shoulder and squeezed. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around bewildered.

"What happened?" she asked as she pulled at the handcuffs around the metal pole.

"We were hoping you would tell us," Catherine said, watching Mitch un-cuff Becka.

She rubbed her wrists and looked around the room. "I was watching that woman like you said when she said she needed to use the bathroom." Becka explained, "I came in to escort her out and the next thing I know you're all here and she's gone." She looked at Mitch as fear spread across her features. "Oh god, I let her get away, didn't I?"

"Becka, are you alright?" Catherine asked as a medic walked into the cell.

"I think so," Becka said as the medic began examining her. "I just feel like I passed out or something."

"Pressure points," Horatio said as he stood, "Jessica made you pass out."

"Oh god," the young uniform said again as she covered her face in embarrassment.

Greg came running down the hall and nearly stumbled when he tried to stop.

"Catherine!" he exclaimed, "I just got word that Jessica was sighted leaving the locker room ten minutes ago!"

Catherine jumped to her feet and dashed towards him. "Where do you think she's gone, Greg?"

"I don't know," Greg gasped as they started running back down the hall. "I thought she was still down here."

"So did we," Catherine said as she jabbed the button on the elevator.

When the doors opened again they rushed into the crime lab. "Greg, you take Officer Wolfe and check the west wing and Lieutenant Caine and I will check the east! If we don't find her be back in ten minutes!"

They ran through the entire floor, looking in behind every door and in every corner. The group reconvened fifteen minutes later outside the trace lab.

"Nothing," Catherine exasperatedly said, "I can't believe she got away."

"Oh, Greg," Hodges said as he walked out into the hall, carrying his bag, ready to leave. "I just saw Holly twenty minutes ago and she asked me to give you a message."

Greg stared at him in shock. "Well?" he snapped.

"Well someone's grumpy," Hodges scoffed. "Anyways she wanted me to tell you thanks for letting her stay in your apartment and for being such a great friend, but she's terribly sorry about the grand theft auto."

Greg looked at him confused. "I know," Hodges said skeptically, "I thought it was a curious message also." Hodges's eyes suddenly widened at the sight of Horatio. "Oh my god, you're Horatio Caine," he nearly whispered.

"Hodges!" Greg snapped, "The message!"

Hodges snapped back to reality and looked at Greg. "I already told you the message; that was it." He looked back at Horatio with a starry eyed look. "I can't believe it, you're Lieutenant Caine."

Horatio looked at him in confusion and a little creeped out. "Yes, that's me."

"Oh gosh, sir, it's such an honor." Hodges stepped towards Horatio with his hand extended. "I can't believe I'm meeting the _real_ Lieutenant Horatio Caine. Sir, your daughter's book was so inspiring!"

"Book?" Horatio skeptically said as Hodges shook his hand.

"Yes, Dr. Caine's book, the one she released in Germany," Hodges explained as he dug through his messenger style bag. He pulled a book from it and smiled as he handed it to Horatio. "_Verschwindene Taten,_ I thought it was so inspiring! I mean her story of going from a gang banger to a cop is just incredible!"

Horatio looked at the book. He read 'Vanishing Acts' across the top with Jessica's name printed beneath it. On the cover was a picture of a face split in two. One half was Izzy's, the other Jessica's. "You said it was released in Germany?" Horatio inquired.

"Yes, I was visiting family when it was released." Hodges explained, "They said they were going to a book release premiere and invited me to come along. Her story is so incredible!"

"But if it was released in Germany, shouldn't it be in German?" Ryan asked, looking over Horatio's shoulder.

"It is," Hodges said, "I had a little trouble but once I translated the whole thing I read it cover to cover three times!"

"Hodges," Greg said, "This is in English."

"What? No it isn't," Hodges said, taking the book back. He looked at the cover and his eyes grew twice in size. "What? How is this possible? It was in German when I read it on my lunch break." He began to flip through it back and forth. He stopped when he got to the inside cover page and read the message scribed in purple ink. "Hodges- Thanks for all the fun times being lab rat partners! I was so honored to hear you loved my book! I wanted you to own the first English edition released in America. I hope you enjoy it, even without the challenge of having to translate it. Love Always, Dr. Jessica Caine. PS- Your German copy is in your locker. Sorry!"

Hodges head snapped up and he looked at Horatio. "Your daughter's here?"

"Somewhere," Horatio muttered.

"She has been for quite awhile," Greg quietly said.

"What do you mean, G?" Hodges asked confused.

Greg sighed and looked at Hodges. "Holly Smith _is_ Dr. Jessica Caine."

Hodges face flushed and he suddenly looked faint. "Oh my god! You mean all these months I've been working _with_ Dr. Caine!"

Greg slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, that was Jessica."

"Oh my god," Hodges muttered, "I've been working with one of the greatest forensic minds ever." He looked at Horatio and then at Ryan. "Are you Ryan Wolfe?"

Ryan hesitantly nodded his head. "Am I in the book, too?"

"Yeah, there's a whole chapter dedicated just to you and how you changed Dr. Caine's life." Hodges flipped through the pages when suddenly a small envelope fell from the book jacket and to the floor. He reached down and picked it up. He read the outside and held it out to Horatio. "It's for you," he quietly said.

Horatio ripped the envelope open and pulled out a yellow piece of paper from a legal pad. "Dad- Sorry to ditch you again but like I said I'm not ready to come home." Horatio sighed and looked at the scrap of fabric with the word 'Stone' embroider on it. He shook his head and clenched his fist. "Damn it, Jessica," he muttered, "She got away again."

"Damn it!" Greg exclaimed, digging through his pockets, "Where are my car keys?"

Ryan's head turned and he looked at Horatio with an intense expression.

"Greg," Horatio said, "What kind of car do you drive?"

"A black Jeep Grand Cherokee, why?" Greg answered moments before realization washed over him.

"That's the same kind of car that passed us on the way in," Ryan said to Horatio.

"Grand theft auto," Hodges muttered. He chuckled and smiled. "I get it now."

"Catherine, can you put a BOLO out on Greg's car?" Horatio asked.

"I'm on it!" Catherine exclaimed as she pulled out her cell phone.

* * *

Ryan sighed as he looked through Greg's empty Grand Cherokee in the airport parking lot. He ran his hands across the driver seat and deep into the seam where the back met the seat. He pulled out a plastic card and looked at Jessica's picture printed on it with the name "Holly Smith" next to her head. It was a Tennessee state driver's license. Though to the naked eye it would seem authentic, but, to Ryan, he could see clear as day Jessica had made it herself.

"Yeah, she was here," Ryan said as he stepped away from the car. He shook his head and clenched the card in his hand. "I can't believe it, she tricked us again. When will this end?"

Horatio shook his head and watched as a plane rolled off the runway. "I wish I knew," he whispered.


	13. Fire

**Meh. That's all I have to say about this chapter.**

* * *

Fire

* * *

Ryan sighed as he followed Greg and Ray into the small house.

"Why are we going with them again?" he grumbled under his breath.

"Because Jessie left Vegas with three open cases," Horatio said, "The least we can do is help close them. Now go with Greg and check out the utility shed. Ray and I will do another walk through of the house."

"But if Jessica checked out this scene why would we need to check it again?" Ryan groaned.

"Because it was on Jessica's list," Ray explained. "She wanted to come out and recheck the scene because something wasn't adding up in the evidence."

Ryan groaned and followed Greg outside. They walked around the shed, taking pictures and jotting down notes. Greg looked at Ryan shyly before he spoke.

"Are you still mad at me for not telling you Jessica was here?"

Ryan shot him a sideways glance. "Greg it's going to take a lot more than just twenty-four hours for me to get over the fact that I'm pissed as hell at you."

Greg sighed and tried the door. It was unlocked and he and Ryan walked in. Jessica hadn't been in the utility shed, but it said in her notes she thought the reason the home owner was killed was because of something in that shed.

Ryan walked to the back wall and looked at it. He rapped his knuckles against it hard. "This wall's hollow," he commented. "Come help me move it."

Greg stepped up and helped Ryan push the false wall to the side. The smell ammonia filled his nose and the sight of fire flashed before his eyes. Greg grabbed Ryan and pushed him towards the door. He slammed Ryan to the ground and shielded his body as flames fanned out and the shed exploded.

Horatio and Ray ran out into the backyard. Greg was screaming out in pain as Ryan lied beneath his body. They rushed to their side and Ray carefully worked to move Greg.

"Slowly Greg," Ray quietly said, "You don't want to move too quickly."

"Oh god!" Greg cried, "Take them out! It hurts!"

"I can't do that, Greg," Ray calmly said. "It could cause major damage or you could bleed out."

Horatio was already on the phone with 911 as Ryan continued to lie where he was, too shocked to comprehend what was going on. He turned and looked at Greg. Three large shards of glass stuck out of his back and blood was running onto the ground beneath where he was huddled. Ryan's body trembled and he vomited just before he passed out.

* * *

Ryan awoke several hours later in a hospital bed. For a moment he was confused and a sudden fear flowed through him as the memories from the CDC flooded back to him. He slowly calmed down as he remembered where he was and why he was there.

Horatio walked in and sighed in relief at the sight of Ryan awake. "Thank god, you're awake," he quietly said as he sat beside Ryan's bed.

"Where's Greg?" Ryan quickly asked.

"He just got out of surgery," Horatio explained. "He was lucky; those glass shards didn't cause any major damage. He's just going to be sore for a very long time."

Ryan sighed in relief, not realizing he hadn't been breathing. "Can I see him?"

"Not right now," Horatio said, "He's not awake yet." Horatio's eyes peered into Ryan's. "He saved your life, Ryan. If Greg hadn't been there those glass pieces would have hit you in the chest, and you're a little smaller than Greg. I don't think you would have withstood the blast."

Ryan blinked several times, clearly holding back tears that threatened to fall. "I'm such a jerk," he whispered.

* * *

Greg was propped up on his side and he was groggy as the anesthesia wore off. Someone was holding his hand and he was confused as to whom. His eyes slowly drifted open and he stared at Ryan sitting in a chair next to his bed. Ryan looked at him, his large hazel eyes filled with sorrow.

"I'm sorry," Ryan finally whispered after several minutes of silence.

Greg looked at him. "It's ok," he whispered in response, "I would have been pissed, too."

* * *

Ryan sighed as he pulled on a pair of Greg's coveralls. He cuffed up the pant legs, making them the right length for his shorter legs.

"So let me get this straight," Ryan said, "Because that meth lab in the shed happened to explode when I was in it you feel that we need to repay a debt to Catherine for taking out one of her CSIs."

"Exactly," Horatio said as he zipped the coveralls with the name "Grissom" embroidered on the front. He chuckled to himself as he pulled on an old pair of Grissom's work shoes.

Catherine walked into the locker room with another woman with brown hair. She stopped and chuckled at the sight of Horatio in Grissom's old coveralls.

"Well I would have thought Gil would have taken those with him," she laughed. "I must say though, Horatio, you pull them off well."

"Why thank you, boss," Horatio chuckled.

Sara Sidle stared at Ryan with an intense curiosity. She walked towards him and stopped short of him. She gaped at him with her mouth parted slightly.

"You're Ryan," she finally whispered.

Ryan nodded his head as he grabbed Greg's CSI hat from his locker. "Yeah, Ryan Wolfe," he answered.

Sara looked at him perplexed. "You're a real person," she whispered again. "She was telling the truth."

"Who?" Ryan inquired, rather confused.

Sara reached across him and pressed her index finger against the door of Greg's locker. Ryan followed her gaze and looked at the picture taped to the inside of Greg's locker. It was a picture of Greg and Jessica. Ryan didn't understand how he had missed it. They were sitting together at a table set with dinner plates. They were smiling and their heads were held together. Greg's arm was wrapped around Jessica's shoulders and she was beaming with joy. They were dressed in elegant clothing and the decorations hinted at Christmas time.

"I told you Jelly and I weren't together," Greg said as he limped into the locker room. "She kept telling you Ryan was her boyfriend but you wouldn't believe me." He sat on a bench and hissed in pain.

"Greg you shouldn't be here," Catherine said.

"I can finish my lab work," Greg protested. "Besides, my apartment's lonely without Jelly."

"Jelly?" Ryan quietly said.

Nick chuckled as he walked into the locker room wearing his coveralls. "It's a little nickname G came up with for Jessica because he kept forgetting to call Jessica Holly and he would remember at the last second so it always came out Jelly."

Ryan smiled at Nick and then at Greg. "I like it," he quietly said.

"Well too bad," Greg said, "Because it's my nickname for Jelly!"

"Yeah you should have heard him when Hodges tried to use it," Nick chuckled.

Ryan chuckled and picked up his jeans off the bench. A small ladybug fell out of the pocket and Sara scooped it up.

"Um, you dropped your ladybug?" she chuckled.

Ryan accepted it back with a smile and carefully tucked it away in Greg's locker.

"You brought it with you," Horatio chuckled.

"As a matter of fact, yes I did," Ryan proudly said. "I told you I was going to ask her the next time I saw her."

"Ask her what?" Greg inquired.

Ryan smiled and held out the ladybug ring box. He popped it open and watched as Greg's eyes lit up in amazement at the sight of Jessica's engagement ring.

Nick laughed loudly and clapped Ryan on the back. "You were going to pop the question!" he exclaimed.

"Yes I was," Ryan proudly declared. "I've been dying to ask her for months now."

"He really has," Horatio chuckled. "He came with me last week just to pick it up from the jewelries."

"When did you buy it?" Greg asked.

"I didn't," Ryan smiled, "It was her mother's, but don't tell her that."

"Why did you have to go pick it up last week?" Greg inquired.

"Jessie Bug's fingers are larger than her mother's." Horatio explained, "Her mother was a rather petite woman. We had to get it re-sized."

Catherine chuckled and held the ring box in her hands. "Well it looks like Horatio Caine finally found someone good enough for his little girl," she smiled brightly.

"Better than good." Horatio smiled at Ryan. "He's the best I could have asked for."

* * *

Ryan stared at the barn floor where supposedly a murder weapon was buried. He sighed and picked up his shovel.

"I can't believe I'm an indentured servant because of Jessica…again," he muttered.

"You knew what you were getting yourself into when you signed up for the role of Jessica's boyfriend," Horatio said with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I bet no one warned you when you sighed up to be her father," Ryan chuckled.

"Nope, found that one out the hard way," Horatio smiled as he began digging.

"Back to the dirty work," Ryan said.

"Not a big deal," Horatio said. "It's nice to not be the boss for once."

* * *

Ryan collected things from Greg's apartment. Jessica had left in a hurry and a few of her items were still scattered through the apartment. He dropped three pairs of heels into a box and grabbed a pair of pants. He stopped and stared at a pair of Jessica's panties that were hidden beneath. Ryan scooped them up and quickly glanced around the room before he brought them to his face and inhaled deeply.

"Oh my god Ryan, are you really smelling those?"

Ryan jumped and quickly turned around, hiding the panties behind his back. He stared wild eyed at Nick and felt his ears flush. Nick laughed at his embarrassment and walked over to him. He clapped Ryan on the shoulder and smiled a wide grin at him.

"You're a dirty boy, aren't you?" Nick asked with a wink. Ryan's face flush and he diverted his eyes. Nick laughed again and patted him on the shoulder again. "No need to be embarrassed about liking the way your girl smells."

"I'm more embarrassed about getting caught sniffing her panties," Ryan muttered.

Nick laughed once more and shook his head as he walked over to the closet. He began pulling dresses off hangers and carrying them over to the bed. Ryan followed him and picked up a purple dress.

"This is new," he commented.

Nick looked at the dress with an interested expression. "Yeah, that's the one Jess wore to the department Christmas party."

Ryan looked it over. It was a warm shade of purple that shined like satin. He looked at the v-neck collar and quickly read the tag. It was a size eleven, two or three sizes bigger than what Jessica wore.

"It was a little big on her when she wore it," Nick commented. "She said she was too cheap to pay someone else to do something she could do herself."

Ryan smiled and neatly folded the dress, gingerly placing it on the bed. "Sounds just like Jessica."

* * *

**I think Ryan's horny. He better get laid and fast! lol**


	14. Mental

**This chapter was inspired by the show "The Mentalist." It's one of my new favorites and I thought it'd be fun to Patrica Jane meet Horatio and Ryan.**

* * *

Mental

* * *

Las Vegas Police Department Crime Lab  
Las Vegas, Nevada  
12:27pm

* * *

Horatio's phone vibrated and he excused himself to answer the unfamiliar number. "Hello?"

"Hello, Lieutenant Caine?" the chipper voice on the other end said.

"Yes, speaking."

"Yes, my name is Patrick Jane and I work for the California Bureau of Investigation. I'm calling you because I believe there's something here you've been looking for."

Horatio was confused by the man's words. "You have something I'm looking for? What would that be?"

"What? Just a beautiful young woman named Jessica."

Horatio felt his heart stop and his mind went completely blank.

"Hello? Lieutenant Caine? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm still here. What do you mean you have Jessica?"

* * *

12:47pm

* * *

Greg and Ryan were secretly playing a game online on Greg's computer when Catherine and Horatio walked in. Greg hurriedly closed the window and tried to act normal.

"Hey Catherine, what's going on?" he quickly asked.

"Well besides the fact that you're behind on getting the fingerprints you lifted from that game you're currently playing that's still evidence-"

"It was research." Greg quickly interjected.

"Research, yeah sure, Greg, just like the swimsuit editions of Sports Illustrated Magazines you used to keep in the DNA lab were research."

"Ok, I was guilty there."

"Anyways, Lieutenant Caine needs Officer Wolfe back. They're leaving for California in an hour."

"Wait, why are we going to California?" Ryan asked.

"Because the California Bureau of Investigation may have located Jessica," Horatio informed him. "We need to leave now because our flight leaves in an hour and I know you're going to need most of that hour to pack your things in that way you pack them." Horatio said with a brief roll of his eyes. "Fucking weirdo."

Ryan's eyes grew huge and he felt his stomach tie into knots. "They found Jessica?"

"That's what Mr. Jane told me, but we need to leave now," Horatio sternly said.

Ryan looked at Greg and then threw his arms around him. "Good-bye big brother! I'm leaving you for a woman!"

"Ryan's leaving Greg for a woman?" Nick asked as he strolled into the room. "I didn't know you guys were dating. Does Jessica know?"

"Shut up Nick," Greg said, rolling his eyes as his ears and Ryan's turned the same shade of red.

Nick looked at Ryan who was collecting his things. "Where you going, Ryan?"

"California!" he excitedly declared, "The CBI has Jessica!"

"CBI? What's that, a misspelling of CSI?" Nick asked.

"I'll explain it to you later Nicky," Catherine said. She held out her hand to Horatio and smiled. He grasped it with a smile of his own. "It was good seeing you again, Horatio."

"Like wise, Catherine, I just wish it was on different terms."

Nick grabbed Ryan's arm and smiled at him. Ryan smiled back and embraced him in his arms. "Thanks for keeping my Jessie safe while she was here."

"Not problem man," Nick said, "Anything for you guys."

"You're going to come back and visit, right?" Greg asked as he walked over with a smile on his face.

Ryan chuckled and hugged him. "Of course, but you guys have to come visit us in Miami sometime."

"Sun, beaches, babes," Nick said, "Yeah I think you guys have everything Greg's looking for."

"Shut up, Nick," Greg scoffed as he playfully punched his arm.

"Oh sorry, guys apparently," Nick said with a laugh.

"I'm going to hurt you."

Nick scoffed. "Please, like you could."

"Ryan, we need to leave now." Horatio said, "We have a plane to catch."

"Sorry H," Ryan said as he followed him out the door. "Can we go to Lego Land while we're there?"

"Nope, we're going to Sacramento."

"Aw man!"

* * *

California Bureau of Investigation Headquarters  
Sacramento, CA  
3:30pm

* * *

Horatio and Ryan passed through security and up the elevator to the third floor. They walked into the busy office, stopping a woman to ask for help.

"Excuse ma'am," Horatio said, "But we're looking for an Agent Lisbon."

The young woman looked at Horatio confused. "Yes, speaking, that's me." She looked at the two men again. "And you are?"

"Lieutenant Horatio Caine and CSI Ryan Wolfe from Miami Dade," Horatio explained as he displayed his credentials and badge, "I received a call earlier today just after noon that my daughter was somewhere here at the CBI. I was given instructions to find you and you would be able to take me to see a…" his voice trailed off as he looked at the name on the back of the Las Vegas business card he held in his hand. "Patrick Jane."

"That's me," a vaguely familiar voice said behind Horatio and Ryan. They turned to see a blonde hair man leaning against the elevator doorframe. He was wearing s button down shirt and vest and had a case file tucked under his left arm. He walked over to them and extended his hand. "You must be Lieutenant Caine," he said as he shook Horatio's hand. He turned and looked at Ryan. "And you must be Ryan Wolfe. My name's Patrick Jane, I'm the one that called you this morning, Lieutenant Caine, about your daughter."

Lisbon stared at Patrick. "Jane, what's going on?"

"Oh you didn't know?" Patrick asked, "We've had a missing Miami woman in our building all day."

"We what?!" Lisbon snapped.

"We've had a missing Miami woman in our building, more specifically my office. I thought you would have known that."

"Jane, we had a missing woman in our office and you didn't think it was important to tell me?"

"Well I assumed that since you're the boss and you seem to know everything, so you would have known about a missing woman in our building. I mean her picture has been all over national television. She's quite beautiful, you really can't miss her."

"Wait, is this the Miami woman who's been missing for seven months after the case of her death went cold?" Lisbon asked, "The one where the police thought it was a suicide but then they couldn't find evidence of a suicide so then it was declared a homicide and then hit a dead end when there wasn't enough supporting evidence. That missing woman?!"

"Yes, that one," Patrick said. "Haven't I been saying that all along?"

"So this woman is somewhere in our building?"

"No, not anymore," Patrick said as he dug through a candy dish on the nearest desk. "Oh lemon drops."

"Jane!" Lisbon snapped, "Pay attention! What do you mean not anymore?"

"Well she left, about three hours ago." Patrick thought it over for a second before he spoke again. "I think that was part of the plan."

"You mean Jessica's not here anymore?" Ryan asked annoyed, "Are you sure it was even her?"

"Yes it was her and yes she left already. We had a very interesting meeting though."

"How long was she actually here?" Lisbon asked.

"Oh about thirty minutes, or at least that's how long our meeting was. I don't know how long she was in my office before I got there."

"Mr. Jane, what did you discuss with her?" Horatio asked.

"Well it was quite interesting actually, we talked about me and then her and then about her computer skills, which are quite amazing by the way."

"What did you talk about?" Horatio inquired.

"Well first she informed me of our less than attentive security guards who let her in even though when they swiped her ID card it identified her as me." Patrick explained, "I guess when they get hungry they'll let just anyone in. Then we played a brief game of twenty questions where I had to guess who she was and I got it right." Patrick smiled. "I was very proud of myself."

"Patrick, are you going somewhere with this?" Lisbon asked.

"Yes I am, but you have to be patient," Patrick said to her. He turned to Horatio and Ryan. "Sorry, she gets so impatient with me and my story telling skills."

"I'm getting impatient," Ryan muttered angrily. "Please tell me where she is."

Patrick scoffed and shook his head. "Officer Wolfe, you just need to relax. Just relax and concentrate on your breathing, you'll feel much better. Just think about breathing, in and out, in and out, in and-"

"Patrick don't you dare put him in a trance!" Lisbon snapped.

"Oops, I got caught."

"Wait," Ryan stuttered, "You were putting me in a trance? What kind of trance?"

"He was trying to hypnotize you." Lisbon explained, "He does that a lot. Keep your guard up with this one."

"You're all so angry," Patrick said with a smile. "Have some lemon drops, they make me feel better. I promise no tricks with these."

Ryan hesitated but took one from his hand. "If I pass out I'm kicking your ass when I wake up."

Patrick simply chuckled and continued on with his story. "So I go up to my office and find this radiating young woman sitting at my desk. Once I figured out who she was we talked a bit about Red John."

"Red John?" Ryan questioned, "Whose Red John?"

"Red John is a serial killer we've been tracking for years." Lisbon explained, "We're currently working on a case about him right now."

"No we're not," Patrick said.

Lisbon shot him a dirty look. "What do you mean we're not?"

Patrick held out the case file for her. "It's a copycat."

"How do you know?" Lisbon asked as she took the file. It was the one she had been looking for. "And how did you get this out of my desk?!"

"Well in both cases it was Dr. Caine who pointed it out." Patrick explained, "In the pool of blood by the bed we found a partial shoe print. Red John would not have made that mistake."

"And the case file?" Lisbon prompted.

"Dr. Caine stole it out of your desk," Patrick quickly said.

Lisbon stared at him dumbfounded. "She took it from my desk? How did she do that?"

"Yes she did and I don't know. We never got around to discussing that. I've noticed she's very good at hiding out in the open. She probably just walked up, picked the lock, and took the file."

"Are you talking about that smokin' hot blonde that was in Lisbon's office earlier?" a tall man with dark brown hair asked as he approached the group. He smiled and held out his hand to Horatio and then Ryan. "Agent Wayne Rigsby," he introduced himself.

"Rigsby, you saw someone in my office and didn't do anything about it?" Lisbon asked.

"Well sure I did. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was just borrowing the Red John case file. She said she was from the forensics department and she was new. I just kindly told her that next time she needed to check with you first, boss."

"Did you ask her anything else?" Lisbon inquired.

"Yeah, I asked for her number." Rigsby proudly declared, "And I got it!" He pulled a business card from his pocket and waved it around happily. "Guess who's calling her later tonight!"

"I wouldn't bother," an Asian man blandly said, "She was clearly engaged." He also extended his hand. "Agent Kimball Cho."

"Lieutenant Caine and Officer Wolfe, Miami Dade," Horatio said. "Can I see that card?"

"Only if I can have it back," Rigsby said as he handed the business card to Horatio. "I can't keep a fine lady like that waiting."

"Don't bother," Cho said, "She's engaged."

"Just because she was wearing a ring doesn't mean she's engaged," Rigsby retorted.

"Actually Rigsby's right about this one," Patrick said, "She's not engaged. Officer Wolfe hasn't popped the question yet."

"Haha, see!" Rigsby laughed. "Wait, what?" he asked suddenly confused.

Horatio looked at the CBI business card and chuckled. "Dr. Jessica Stone," he read, "I know that name."

"That's the name your daughter uses when she doesn't want anyone to know who she is, isn't it?" Patrick asked.

"As a matter of fact it is." He laughed as he read the number printed on the card. "Well Agent Rigsby, why don't you give her a call right now?"

"Well she might be working," Rigsby said, trying to seem professional.

"Oh no, she'll answer," Horatio said as he handed Rigsby the card.

Rigsby gave him a questioning look and pulled out his phone. He dialed the number on the card and brought the phone to his ear. Ryan's phone began to ring in his pocket and he pulled it out and read the unfamiliar number across the screen. He looked at Rigsby and held his phone up for him to read. Rigsby's face flushed and he quickly hung up his phone.

Patrick laughed and jumped from foot to foot. "Oh that was good!" he happily said, "She knew that was going to happen! She knew Rigsby was going to meet Officer Wolfe so she gave him his number! Oh that was so good!"

Rigsby stared at the floor and shifted uneasily. "Well then, I'm going to, um, I'm going to get back to work."

"Good idea," Lisbon said. "Cho take this and start looking for new suspects. This guy isn't Red John. Look over the witness statements again."

"Got it boss," Cho said as he walked away with Rigsby.

"I was right though," Rigsby said to Cho as they walked away, "She wasn't engaged."

"Yeah and that's about the only thing you were right about," Cho blandly retorted.

Lisbon looked at Patrick, who gave her a cheerful smile. "Do you have anything else you need to tell us Jane?"

Patrick weighed out his thoughts. "No, I don't think so."

"Uh, boss," a young red headed woman said from her desk, "My computer's acting weird."

"Van Pelt can't you figure anything out on your own?" Lisbon snapped. She walked over to the young woman's desk and leaned over her shoulder. A baffled expression washed over her face as she stared at the computer. "What are you doing?"

"Well I was trying to access the file the AV guys sent me but it's blank." Van Pelt explained, "When I tried opening it again it just said 'You got Stoned.'"

Ryan and Horatio looked at each other for a moment before they rushed over to the desk. Ryan looked over the computer screen. "Would you mind if I took a look?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," Van Pelt said as she stood from her computer.

Ryan slid into the chair and looked over the message. He brought up a few windows and began typing commands. "You guys use a different program than we do," he commented as he worked.

"Can you still get through?" Horatio asked.

"Oh yeah, Jess taught me all she knows, which I hear she learned from her father."

"Her biological," Horatio commented, "He taught me everything I know, too."

"Oh, you're not Jessica's biological father?" Patrick asked, eating a sandwich.

"Nope, I adopted her fourteen years ago, after both her parents died."

"Well I must say, I don't know how, but your eyes look beautiful on her."

"Thank you," Horatio commented, "Kidney transplant made her eyes change colors."

The computer beeped and an alert flashed on the computer screen. "I was right!" Ryan exclaimed, "Jessica hacked you!"

"Hacked us?" Lisbon asked, "You mean she's the one that's been hacking us from our own office."

"No, she was somewhere else," Ryan explained.

"But our AV department said the hacker was inside the building," Van Pelt commented.

"That's what the virus she sent you told you."

"She sent us a virus?" Lisbon asked, rather irritated.

"Yes, but it was harmless," Ryan said as he typed on the computer. Another alert flashed with a message stating the virus had been destroyed. "There, it's gone now. Oh and you got another message from your AV department. Do you want me to scan it first?"

"Might as well," Lisbon sighed.

Ryan began to scan the message for another virus but the scan was blocked and a window popped up. "I knew she was going to do that," he muttered as he started the video.

Jessica's face filled the screen and she smiled with a mischievous grin.

"_You were close but I got away again,"_ Jessica said in the video. _"Now try again. Come on big Daddy, Pumpkin you can do better."_ Jessica waved and smirked at them.

The window closed and Ryan sighed, shaking his head. "Damn it Jess," he muttered as he continued working on the CBI computer. "There, all the viruses are gone. You're clean now."

"Thank you Officer Wolfe," Lisbon said. She turned back to Patrick Jane. He gave her a pleasant smile and held out his sandwich. "Roast beef?" he said.

"No Patrick, I don't want any of your damn sandwich!" she snapped. "I want you to start talking!"

"About what?" Patrick asked around a mouthful of sandwich.

"You knew she did this!" Lisbon continued to snap at him. "You knew Jessica Caine hacked our computer system and you didn't tell me! This is a major crime, Patrick!"

"Oh don't send the poor girl to jail," Patrick said, "The jail wouldn't be able to handle her. She'd overtake and then probably escape. Then we'd have to go through with the whole messy fugitive hunt thing and you know how grumpy the cops get when we have to do that."

"Can you actually prove my daughter did this?" Horatio asked.

"Well Officer Wolfe and Jane both just admitted she did it," Lisbon stated.

"But she didn't do anything," Ryan said. "Look all she did was hack into your system to lift some information about Mr. Jane. She took his ID number and it seems transferred it to another card. So really it's your fault for making your system so easy to hack."

"Excuse me, our system is not easy to hack," Lisbon snapped. "We have a very advanced security system."

"No you don't," Ryan said. "Look I just hacked in and made myself an employee."

"What?!" Lisbon exclaimed. She leaned over Ryan's shoulder and stared at the screen. Sure enough Ryan had entered himself into the system as a forensic specialist under the name Brian Johnson.

"I win," Ryan said with a smirk.

Lisbon scoffed and paced. "I can't believe this."

"So who is this gang Jessica's hiding from?" Patrick asked as he continued to eat his sandwich.

Horatio gave him a questioning look. "Excuse me?"

"Well she's hiding from someone, that's why she disappeared, right?" Patrick asked.

"Well yes, she's hiding from someone."

"Who attacked her?"

Horatio sighed and shook his head. "No one attacked her. An innocent woman died in an attempt at her murder. Jessica couldn't take it anymore. She faked her own death in hopes the Crip Kings would leave her alone once and for all."

"Well I think her plan is going to work," Patrick said, "I mean a genius like her seems to already know how everything's going to play out. So clearly this plan is going to work."

Ryan chuckled. "You think Jessica's a genius too, huh?"

"Oh no I know she's a genius." Patrick said, "She told me her IQ and wow she's smart!"

"I bet she's smarter than you," Lisbon muttered.

"Actually yes she is, by three points."

"Three points?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah her IQ level is higher than mine by three points," Patrick commented. "Anyone want some fruit? I think there's still some in the employee frig."

"What's her IQ level?" Ryan asked as he followed him subconsciously.

"Oh you don't want to know," Patrick insisted, handing Ryan a pear.

"What does that mean?" Ryan asked as he bit into the pear absentmindedly.

"Well those of average or above average intelligence always feel inferior when they learn their significant other has a higher IQ level than them," Patrick said, trying to decide between an apple and a banana.

"Are you calling me dumb?" Ryan asked defensively.

"Ryan," Horatio said in a warning tone.

Ryan shot him a withdrawn look. "Sorry H," he quietly muttered.

"No I'm not calling you dumb," Patrick said. "In fact I would place you in the above average intelligence range. You're incredibly intelligent and observant, Officer Wolfe. You've already proven that by figuring out Jessica's virus. I'm just saying you're probably one of those people who get self conscious easily and have a problem with wanting to prove yourself all the time. You need to stop that. Jessica loves you for who you are and you need to stop these stupid thoughts about her leaving you. You're a smart, successful, and talented young man, who, if I might add, is quite handsome. So relax, Jessica's not going to think less of you because your IQ is lower than hers. She loves you, that's why she's going home."

Ryan smiled and took a bite out of his pear again. "You really think so?"

"Well of course," Patrick said with a smile, "She probably likes you better not as a genius."

"Really?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, sometimes it's annoying being around another person with a high IQ," Patrick said. "I mean you get a group of geniuses together and nothing gets accomplished because all they do is fight and argue about why they're right. I mean just think about a group of OCD people in one room."

"Sounds like chaos," Horatio muttered, "And would probably smell like hand sanitizer."

"See you can't put people like that together," Patrick said. "Havoc will ensue."

"So where's Jessica now?" Ryan asked as he followed Patrick through the office, still eating his pear.

"Oh I'm entirely sure," Patrick commented as they walked towards Lisbon's office.

Agent Lisbon sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe this, Jane. We had a missing woman in our building and you didn't tell me about it."

"Well you never said I had to tell you there was a missing person in our building." Patrick said, "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." He turned and walked towards the restroom. His shoulder collided with Horatio's and he stopped and steadied them both. "Oh dear, Lieutenant, I'm so terribly sorry. I'm such a klutz sometimes."

"Quite alright, Mr. Jane," Horatio said, straightening his jacket. "No harm done."

Lisbon sighed and rubbed her temples with her fingertips. "I'm so sorry about all of this," she said. "Jane isn't usually quite _this_ difficult."

"No need to worry, Agent Lisbon," Horatio said. "He reminds me a lot of my daughter."

"Only male and not attractive to me," Ryan chuckled.

Patrick walked back towards the group and bumped into Horatio again.

"Damn, there I go again, tripping over my own feet." Patrick chuckled. He looked down and cocked his head at the sight of something lying on the floor. "Oh, what's this?" He picked up a wallet and flipped it open. "Oh dear, Lieutenant, it appears you dropped your wallet."

Horatio turned and looked at him. "Did I?"  
"Yeah, must have happened when I plowed into you." He handed the wallet to Horatio, who flipped it open and looked through it.

"That's alright, everything's still here. Thank you, Mr. Jane."

"Jane," Lisbon said, "Is there anything that Dr. Caine told you of importance before she left?"

"Oh yes, she did actually. She told me I need to get a new lock on my office door. Apparently it only took her twelve seconds to pick the lock. Can you believe it, twelve seconds! I'm impressed. If she wasn't headed back to Miami I'd say we should hire her. But she seems to love the wonderful sunshine state."

"Wait," Ryan interjected, "She's going home?"

"Well not right now. Eventually though she'll be back with you. Which by the way, you better have that ring ready."

Ryan looked at him surprised. "What ring?"

"The ring you bought her, you know so you can propose to her."

"What makes you think I bought a ring?"

"Oh, so it's an heirloom. Nice, very nice. You have good taste, Officer Wolfe."

Ryan stuttered and shook his head. "How did you know I was going to propose to her?"

"Well she had a ring already and I would assume that if it was an engagement ring she would have called you her fiancé. She didn't so I'm guessing you're not engaged yet. Besides, if you were engaged I would think she would have dragged you along for this country wide road trip. I mean really, what kind of woman leaves her fiancé with her father when she tours the world hiding from thugs?"

"Jane," Lisbon interjected, "Did Dr. Caine tell you anything important?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot." Patrick grabbed Horatio and Ryan's arms and led them towards the window. "Jessica wants to see you one last time."

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

"Just wait and watch." Patrick looked at his watch. "It should be happening in about twenty seconds."

"What's happening?" Ryan continued to question.

"Just watch, just watch," Patrick assured him. "You'll see soon enough."

"Jane, what's going on?" Lisbon asked as she approached the window.

"You're so impatient, Lisbon; you can't rush these kinds of things. Oh, there it goes!" Patrick pointed to the window towards a plane flying through the air. The wheels were still folding up as it took off. "There she is!"

"She's on that plane?" Ryan asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"She sure is." Patrick smiled. "She picked this building because it has a great view of the Sacramento Airport. She wanted the two of you to see her just before she left."

Horatio chuckled and shook his head. "Sounds just like my daughter."

* * *

City View Condominiums  
Miami, FL  
11:37pm

* * *

Ryan laid on his stomach on his bed watching the videos on his computer McGee and Abby had sent him. It was of Jessica singing various songs while playing a guitar that had been entered as evidence. She smiled at the camera as Abby encouraged her from her place behind the camera.

"Keep going, Jessie!" Abby said, "You have such an incredible voice!"

"Oh come on, Abbs," Jessica chuckled as she continued to tunelessly strum the guitar, "I'm not that good."

"I'd say you're pretty good," McGee commented as the camera swiveled to look at him. The shot lingered on McGee for several moments as Jessica continued to play. McGee looked at the camera and a slight blush formed on his cheeks. "Abby, Jessica's over there."

"Oh right!" Abby's voices sounded as the camera jerked back towards Jessica. Jessica laughed and smiled at the camera.

"Alright, this one's for Ryan!" she happily exclaimed as the tune of the guitar changed.

Ryan smiled to himself as Jessica began playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believein'." She smiled brightly at the camera and Ryan felt like she was singing just to him. Abby began singing along with her, slightly out of tune.

"Come on, McGee!" Abby said, "Sing along!"

"I don't sing, Abby," McGee sternly said.

"What's going on here?" Gibbs's voice sounded as Abby's camera turned just in time to catch sight of him walking out of the elevator.

"Nothing, Gibbs!" Abby said.

The computer screen went black and the video stopped. Ryan stared at the blank screen and sighed.

"Please come home, Jess," he whispered, "I need you."


	15. Trail of Stones

A Trail of Stones

* * *

Horatio opened Jessica's locker and looked at the three lab coats hanging inside. He held one in his hands and matched the torn piece of fabric to where the name Stone should have been. Horatio didn't understand why Jessica had torn the name from her lab coats. He sighed and gently replaced the lab coat. Ryan walked over to him and leaned against the next locker.

"What do you think it means?" he quietly asked Horatio.

Horatio sighed and shut the door to Jessica's locker. "Maybe it's like when she was a kid."

"How's that?" Ryan quietly inquired.

"She used to hide when she was a kid," Horatio explained, "But she always left me a trail of stones."

"Why?" Ryan asked.

Horatio smiled as he looked down at the scraps of fabric in his hand. "Because she wanted me to be able to find her again."

* * *

Horatio's computer on his desk rang as a request for a video conference popped up. He didn't recognize the number but accepted the call anyways. Agent Lisbon's angry face filled the screen as she scowled at Horatio.

"Lieutenant Caine," she hissed, "What does your daughter think she's doing stealing from one of my agents?!"

Horatio looked at her flabbergasted. "Excuse me? My daughter's stolen something from you?"

"No, not from me, from Agent Rigsby!" Lisbon exclaimed, "He just checked his bank account and discovered that there's more than $800 missing from his account! We managed to trace it back to your daughter's computer and I demand to know what business your daughter has stealing from my agent!"

Horatio stared at her shocked. "No, this can't be right, Jessica would never steal."

Horatio watched as Patrick Jane wandered into the background behind Lisbon. He smiled at the computer screen and leaned forward towards Horatio.

"Lieutenant Caine," he said, "It's so good to see you again."

"Not now Jane!" Lisbon snapped, "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a very important phone call?!"

"Oh dear, has Red John made it to Miami?" Patrick asked sarcastically.

"No, Lieutenant Caine's daughter stole money from Rigsby!" Lisbon snapped.

"My daughter has never stolen anything in her life!" Horatio retorted. Ryan jumped at the sound of Horatio's angry voice as he walked into his boss's office. He walked behind the desk and looked at Jane and Lisbon's faces on the screen.

"Officer Wolfe!" Patrick excitedly said, "Good to see you!"

"Shut up Jane!" Lisbon snapped, "Rigsby, good, you're here."

"Yeah, is that Caine?" a male voice asked as Agent Rigsby came into view. "What the hell? Where's my money?" he snapped at Horatio.

"I assure you, Agent Lisbon, my daughter is not a thief," Horatio said, trying to calm himself. "I don't know what evidence you have that Jessica has stolen from Agent Rigsby, but I can guarantee you Jessica would never steal."

"Of course she didn't steal," Patrick said, "It was only a loan."

Lisbon's head snapped towards Patrick. "What?! A loan?!"

"Yeah, Lieutenant Caine froze Dr. Caine's account so I lifted his credit card number so she could buy a plane ticket out of Sacramento to…well, where ever it was she was going. Then he froze his own account after Jessica hacked him and she was out of cash. So I lifted Rigsby's credit card number and gave it to her."

"I'm sorry, you what?!" Lisbon snapped.

"Well I don't have a credit card so I couldn't give her the money unless I wired it to her, and I couldn't do that without revealing her location. So I took Rigsby's."

"You gave her my credit card?" Rigsby yelled.

"Well yeah, you were right there when I was talking to her on the phone so I figured why not?"

"How am I supposed to get my money back?" Rigsby snapped at him.

"Well I suppose if Lieutenant Caine unfroze Dr. Caine's account then she would return the money immediately."

Horatio sighed and opened a new window on his computer. He went to his bank account and typed a few commands.

"There," he finally said, "I just unfroze her account."

Rigsby's phone chirped and he pulled it out to find a message. "Can I use your computer, boss?""

Lisbon sighed and pushed back from her desk. "Fine," she muttered.

Rigsby typed on the keyboard and stared at the screen. His eyes grew twice in size as he read something on the screen Horatio couldn't see.

"It's back," he muttered, "My money's back. And there's another thousand dollars that wasn't there before."

"See," Patrick said, "Told you it was a loan. She said she would pay it back with interest as soon as her account was unfrozen again."

Lisbon sighed and rubbed her temples. "I can't believe you sometimes, Jane," she muttered.

"So, since Agent Rigsby's money has been returned I believe an apology is in order," Horatio said.

Lisbon looked at him on the computer screen and sighed. "I'm sorry about the inconvenience and accusations, Lieutenant Caine," she quietly said.

Horatio smiled at her. "It's quite alright, Agent Lisbon," he said. "I knew Jessica wasn't a thief. It was all just one big misunderstanding."

"You, however," Lisbon snapped as she grabbed Patrick's vest, "I will feel no shame in beating the shit out of you."

"Oh, that's my favorite game," Patrick said with a sly smile.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm terribly sorry about the misunderstanding, again, Lieutenant Caine," she said with a forced smile. "It was nice to see you again, and you Officer Wolfe. I hope you find Dr. Caine soon."

"Oh they will alright," Patrick said as he slipped out of his vest Lisbon had a death grip on.

"Jane!" Lisbon yelled as she ran after him.

Rigsby shook his head. "Have a good afternoon, Lieutenant," he said as he ended the phone conference.

"Like wise, Agent Rigsby," Horatio said just before the call ended.

* * *

"Officer Wolfe!" Henry called out to Ryan. Ryan stopped and walked over to him.

"Hey Henry, what's up?" he asked as he approached the desk.

"You have a delivery," Henry said as he pulled out his clipboard with the mail pick up form.

"Someone sent me something?" Ryan inquired as he searched for his name.

"Many somethings," Henry said as he disappeared into the back room. Moments later he emerged pushing a dolly stacked high with several boxes. Ryan stared at him with his mouth gaping at the sight of the cardboard boxes.

"Here's the first load," Henry said. "Would you like some help getting them to your apartment?"

"I'm sorry," Ryan muttered, "The first load?"

"Yes, there's at least three other dollies in there full of boxes with your name on them."

Ryan was shocked. He walked over and lifted the smallest box from the top of the stack. He read his name printed on it with the address to his new condo. Under his name was a message that said "Do not open until May 20th. Or Jessica comes home. Which ever comes first?" Greg Sanders's name and address were listed as the return address.

Ryan released an exasperated breathe as he set the box back on top. "Just take 'em up, Henry," he said, pulling out his phone.

"Sanders," the voice on the other end mumbled.

"Greg, what is the meaning of this?" Ryan hissed, "What the hell did you send me?"

Greg chuckled as Ryan listened to him type on the other end. "I can't tell you," he said.

"Why not?" Ryan snapped.

"Because Jelly told me to keep it a secret," Greg chuckled.

Ryan sighed and rubbed his eyes. "This is Jessica's idea?"

"Well not really," Greg said. "She left them at my place but I decided to send them to you."

Ryan sighed again, rather annoyed with Greg's eluding to facts. "Whatever, Greg," he muttered before he hung up.


	16. Those Voices

**This was one of those chapters where I wrote the first part and wanted something more. So I wrote the second section and the story just kind of trailed from my fingers. Another chapter where I was kind of like "Meh, whatever, not exactly what I wanted."**

* * *

Those Voices

* * *

Ryan sipped his coffee as he walked into the Trace lab. He set his cup down on the counter by the door, in his usual "safe area." He smiled at Molly as she typed on the computer.

"So what are you looking for today?" Ryan asked, leaning against the counter.

"I'm actually doing a little personal business really quick," Molly said.

"May I inquire as to what?" Ryan politely asked.

Molly smiled shyly as a slight blush formed on her cheeks. "Yes you may," she quietly said. "I was checking out reservations for a restaurant online."

"Going on a date later?" Ryan inquired.

"Well, I'm hoping I am." Molly looked at him before she darted her eyes away.

Realization washed over Ryan. He sighed and stood up straight. "Molly, I'm not going to go on a date with you," he quietly said. "I have a girlfriend."

"Who's dead," Molly bluntly said. "Jessica Caine is dead, Ryan. She's never coming back."

"No, you're wrong," Ryan angrily said. "Jessica's alive. There are multiple witnesses who can attest to her being alive all over the world. I've seen her with my own two eyes. She's alive and she's coming home to me."

"Please Ryan," Molly said, walking around the desk to him, "Can't you give me a chance? Can't you give us a chance?"

"No, I can't," Ryan quietly said, taking a step back. "I love Jessica. She's the only girl for me."

"Then what has all of this been to you?" Molly quietly asked as her eyes seemed to water. "You were so kind to me when I first came here. You didn't make fun of my checklists or my strange habits. You took me out into the field. You made me feel accepted."

"That's all I was trying to do," Ryan quietly said. "I know what it's like to be the new guy. I just wanted to help you out. I wanted you to feel accepted. I'm sorry if I sent the wrong message, Molly, but I have no interest in you. I love Jessica and someday I'm going to marry her."

Molly looked at him with hurt eyes. "You really have to make up some stupid excuse like that just because you don't want to go out with me?"

"No Molly," Ryan practically whispered, "I'm giving you that excuse because I don't want to be with you because I have Jessica."

He turned and walked from the lab, grabbing his coffee on his way out. Molly ran out into the hall and watched him walk away.

"You're not so great, Ryan Wolfe!" she yelled after him. "You're just a stuck up snob! And you know what? I do think you really are dating Horatio Caine!"

Ryan stopped and looked at her with a perplexed expression. "You're a very sad individual," he said to her before he turned and walked away again.

* * *

Ryan walked into Horatio's house with a six pack of beer. He wandered through the silent house, listening for any signs of life.

"H?" he called out. He looked into the kitchen to find Horatio standing there alone. He was hunched over the sink, a glass of scotch resting next to his hand, a half empty bottle sitting on the counter.

"Horatio?" Ryan quietly said as he walked over to him. He gently placed a hand on Horatio's arm and noticed he was crying.

"Jessica always told me I put on a bit of a persona," he quietly said. "She used to tell me everyone at the academy thought I was some kind of hard ass but really I was a bit of a softy. I used to do it to scare people so they wouldn't find out about my demons."

Ryan stood there silently, listening to Horatio whisper things Ryan had never heard before.

"She was the only one who knew the real me and my demons," Horatio whispered.

"I had a father like yours, Ryan," he quietly continued on, "Only my father didn't limit his abuse to my mother. He would mercilessly beat me day in and day out. I went to high school with a broken collar bone one day. I didn't tell anyone it was broken but one of my teachers figured it out. I was sent home with an order to take me to the hospital. My father refused and broke it even further. My mother watched until she could no longer stand it. She tried to fight him off but it only resulted in her skull being cracked.

"One day I came home from one of my community college courses to find my mother weeping over my father's dead body. Someone had broken into our house and murdered him. He was home alone because he was a drunk and refused to work. They slit his throat and he bled out on the kitchen floor. I held my mother in my arms as she cried. She looked at me and asked if she was a terrible person because she was more upset that we had been robbed then she was of the death of my father."

Ryan looked at Horatio with his large hazel eyes. Horatio could see the sorrow that Ryan was feeling as he quietly listened.

"I've only ever told one other person that," Horatio whispered. "Jessabelle was my savor, the only one I could confine these things in. I betrayed her that night. I promised to keep her daughter safe but I didn't. I raped her."

"You didn't rape Izzy," Ryan whispered. "She asked you to share your love and your body with her that night."

"Statutory rape is still rape, Ryan," Horatio's pained voice hissed. "I should have never done that. I should have said no. I should have turned myself in for what I did. I've lived a life filled with lies. Lies that I can't tell anyone because I'll loose everything I've ever had."

Horatio lifted his glass and took a drink. "I still hear their voices when I can't sleep at night. I hear my mother's pained cries and her yelling for me and my brother to escape. I hear her tell me to get as far away from my father as I can. I hear Jessabelle's pained cries as the cancer ate away at her body. I hear Brian's dying words to care for his daughter as he left this world. I hear James's taunting words as he hurt my little girl. I hear Izzy crying out in pain. I hear Marisol dying in my arms again and again.

"I hear Jessica screaming out in my mind," Horatio whispered. "I hear the pain she's lived through all these years. I hear how I've failed her as a father."

Ryan gently grasped his arm. "You didn't fail her, Horatio," he whispered. "No one's a perfect parent. Such a thing doesn't exist. You have done the best you can and that's all you can do."

"But I let so much pain happen," Horatio nearly choked on his words.

"I wouldn't be dating Jessica if you had failed," Ryan whispered.

Horatio looked at him with shock in his sad blue eyes. "Why not?"

"Because Jessica wouldn't be here," Ryan quietly continued. "She would still be Izzy, she would be in prison, she would really be dead." Ryan stared deep into Horatio's eyes. "She wouldn't have your eyes. The eyes that I love and can only hope our children will someday inherit. She wouldn't be this incredibly amazing woman that I love. Horatio Caine, you've made a lot of mistakes but you've never failed your daughter."

Horatio stared at Ryan for a long moment, unable to say anything. "You really think so?" he finally whispered.

Ryan slowly nodded his head. "I know so," he whispered in response.

Horatio slowly reached out and placed his hand on Ryan's cheek. He brought his face to his and gently kissed Ryan's cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

"No, thank you, Horatio," Ryan whispered. "Thank you for letting me have the one thing that means more to you than anything in this world."

"I wouldn't trust anyone less with the life of my daughter," Horatio quietly said.

* * *

**I actually wrote this chapter before I found out that Horatio really did have an abusive father growing up.**


	17. Sing You Home

Sing You Home

* * *

Horatio stopped at the receptionist's desk. "You said there was someone here to see me, Mel?" he asked the clerk sitting there.

"Yes," the young woman said, "You have a message from a Dr. Smith who would like to request an interview for the position of Forensic Specialist."

"Dr. Smith?" Horatio repeated confused, "I don't think I know a Dr. Smith. Can you give me more information on him?"

"Well actually it was a woman," Mel said as she shuffled through her paperwork on her desk. "She emailed me her resume. Here it is. Dr. Holly Elizabeth Smith; pretty impressive, too. She graduated at the top of her class from the University of Tennessee and studied law abroad in Germany. She's worked for the Naval Criminal Investigation Services in Washington DC as a Forensic Specialist, the Las Vegas Crime Lab as a Forensic Specialist and Crime Scene Investigator, the California Bureau of Investigation in the Forensics and AV department, and did some consulting work with the Philadelphia Police Department."

Horatio read over the resume. Something wasn't right, he just knew it. "When is she going to be here?"

"She said about two o'clock," Mel answered as she read over the email again.

Horatio looked at his watch. It was two o'clock. "Has she been in yet?"

"No, not yet," Mel said.

The elevator doors dinged and Horatio turned to watch them open. He felt his heart stop as the young woman walked out of the cart. Her blonde hair fell just past her shoulders and her skin was pale, revealing dark freckles across her cheekbones that were otherwise unnoticeable. He walked towards her, his heart now pounding inside his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as close to his body as he could. Small tears ran down his face as he kissed her cheek.

"Jessie Bug," he whispered.

* * *

Ryan walked down the hall of the lab. Horatio's text had told Ryan to meet him at the front desk. He didn't understand why his boss wanted him to meet there, but Ryan figured he might as well do what Horatio said, since Horatio was allowing him to marry Jessica.

Ryan could see his boss standing at the counter of the reception area, talking to a blonde woman he didn't recognize. Horatio was turned slightly so Ryan couldn't get a clear view of the woman. She was kind of pale, with a round face, and her hair was so dark blonde it was almost brown. Ryan was sure he hadn't seen this woman sitting at the desk that morning when he checked in and he didn't recall Horatio saying anything about a new hire.

Horatio turned and looked at Ryan with the ocean blue eyes Ryan would recognize anywhere. Horatio looked back at the young woman and said something to her. She turned and looked at him. Ryan could see the blue from where he stood. He felt his heart stop and his feet stumbled to a halt. He looked long and hard at the young woman and then his heart started pounding in his chest uncontrollably. She smiled at him from where she sat at the desk and ran her hand through her hair to brush it out of her face, just as she always did.

Ryan started running to the desk. He couldn't believe she was back! Horatio hadn't told Ryan she was coming back!

"Jessica!" Ryan yelled, as he continued to run towards the love of his life.

Jessica began laughing and stood from the chair she was sitting in. She seemed to struggle a bit, but managed just fine. She walked around the other chair and came out from behind the desk.

Ryan nearly tumbled to the ground when he saw her. Jessica's stomach was huge! Her abdomen curved out and down, making the skirt of her dress flow away from her body. She continued to laugh at Ryan's confusion about whether to hold her, cry, or just pass out. Ryan finally made his decision and closed the distance between them.

Ryan embraced Jessica and kissed her passionately. He didn't care who saw them or who was there. He had his Jessica back and that was all that mattered.

When their kiss finally ended Ryan dropped to his knees and held Jessica's belly. He looked at her with tears in his eyes and she nodded to him. Ryan kissed Jessica's belly and laid his forehead against it. He felt the tears pouring down his cheeks and couldn't believe what was happening.

Ryan felt Jessica's hands run through his hair and down his temples, cupping his cheeks. She turned his gaze upwards so that his eyes met her own tear filled ones.

"Ryan," she quietly said, "We're going to have a baby."

Ryan stood and embraced Jessica again. He held her as close as he could and felt the baby kick against his own abdomen. Ryan kissed her and felt the tears start to stream down his cheeks again.

"Oh Jessica," Ryan managed to say as he practically sobbed in her arms, "I love you more than anything in the world! I've missed you so much!"

Jessica kissed Ryan lightly.

"I love you, too. And _we_ missed you a lot, too."

* * *

Ryan anxiously walked down the hall to Horatio's office. He opened the door and walked inside without even knocking. There she was, sleeping on her back on the couch. Her head was cushioned by Horatio's suit jacket folded up and stuffed under her head. Her chest moved up and down in a rhythmic pattern as she breathed. He knelt beside her sleeping body and just watched her for awhile.

Ryan leaned in and gently kissed her. Jessica's eyes slowly fluttered open and she smiled at the sight of Ryan.

"Hey handsome," she whispered.

Ryan smiled and kissed her again. "Hello beautiful," he whispered.

His hand wandered down from her face, across her neck, between her breasts, and finally came to rest on her swollen abdomen. Ryan smiled brightly as he felt the body within her move.

"You're pregnant," he whispered.

Jessica smiled and nodded her head. "Yes, very much so," she whispered.

"How far along are you?" Ryan quietly asked.

"Twenty-eight weeks," Jessica quietly said, as she laced her fingers with his on top of her belly.

Ryan smiled and kissed her again. "That's incredible," he whispered, "We're going to have a baby."

Jessica smiled against his lips and kissed him back. "I know, isn't it amazing, _Dad?_"

* * *

The team had gathered by the pool at Horatio's house. Horatio had invited them over for dinner and a swim in celebration of Jessica's return. Natalia chuckled and looked towards the house. Horatio and Jessica were walking out onto the patio. Jessica was wearing a yellow bikini with a light blue sarong around her waist. Horatio walked next to her wearing long, blue swim trunks and a white t-shirt.

"Wow, there's something I never thought I would see; Horatio in swim trunks," Natalia said.

"Well at least I talked him out of the Speedo," Jessica jokingly said, tugging at the sleeve of Horatio's t-shirt and giving him a playful grin, which he returned.

Calleigh couldn't hide the laugh in her voice. "Well look who's talking little lady. Seven months pregnant and you still have a bikini body." She looked at Jessica, admiring her still sculpted body beneath the swollen belly. "How in the world do you do it?"

Jessica blushed and pretended to adjust the sarong around her waist. "Oh it's nothing."  
Calleigh scoffed, "Please if I was pregnant I would look like a beach ball in a bikini rather than a hottie!"

"Well this hot momma needs to sit down," Jessica said as she sat in one of the longue chairs around Horatio's pool. She propped her feet up and sighed in relief, running her hands along her large abdomen. "I swear, the little tike's grown twice in size in the last two months."

"Oh my goodness!" Alexx exclaimed as she walked out of Horatio's house with Yelina and Kyle. "When Horatio told me you were home baby girl with a surprise he wasn't kidding!"

Yelina knelt beside the longue chair and smiled at Jessica. "I'm glad you're back, Jessie Bug," she smiled.

"What you didn't get enough of me this afternoon?" Jessica chuckled.

"Wait, you were at Yelina's house?" Horatio inquired.

Jessica blushed a little and gave him a shy smile. "Maybe," she quietly said.

Horatio chuckled and shook his head. "That explains why Yelina didn't sound that surprised when I called her and told her you were home."

Jessica smiled at him and settled into the chair. "Guilty," she chuckled.

"So, Jessie Bug," Yelina smiled, "You never did tell me how far along you are."

"Seven months," Jessica proudly said, "I'm due May 25th."

Yelina chuckled. "Nine days after your birthday."

"Nine months after someone else's," Jessica said. She smiled shyly at Ryan before she looked away.

Realization swept over Ryan as he knelt beside her. He placed his hands on her swollen abdomen and felt the baby move inside. Small tears formed in his eyes as he looked into Jessica's.

"Happy birthday, Ryan," Jessica said with a small smile.

Ryan leaned in and kissed her. His forehead rested against hers as he peered into her eyes.

"This is the best birthday surprise anyone's ever given me," he whispered.

"Even better than the whip and corset?" Jessica softly whispered.

Ryan chuckled and kissed her again. "Even better than the whip and corset."

* * *

The group stood around talking and drinking. They had eaten their food and were listening to stories from Jessica, as she chomped into another hamburger.

"Geez preggers," Eric laughed, "Had enough to eat yet?"

"Excuse me, but I'm eating for two," Jessica said between bites. "What's your excuse?"

"I like food," Eric chuckled as he drank his beer.

Ryan wrapped his arms around Jessica's waist. He ran his hands along her swollen belly. Something beneath her skin jolted and Jessica jumped. She arched her back a little and groaned.

"Always kicking, I swear that's all he does nowadays," Jessica said. Ryan's grip on her abdomen tightened and Jessica felt him nuzzle her neck. "Come with me," he whispered in her ear.

Ryan took her hand and led her around the pool. They stopped when they got to the other side of the pool. Ryan looked into Jessica's eyes and felt his heart surge with joy. He leaned down and kissed her.

"I love you," he said, "Everyday I was hoping I would walk into the lab and there you would be. Or I would walk into our condo and you would be sitting there on the couch waiting for me, like you were never gone. This has been the most difficult seven months of my life ever. I just wanted to hold you and be with you again. I'm so glad you're home, I don't know if I could have gone another day without you."

Jessica placed her hand on his face and kissed him tenderly. "I love you, too, Ryan. I wanted so badly to call you or email you, to tell you I love you one more time and that I was ok. I wanted more than anything just to hop on a plane and come home." Jessica jumped again and looked down at her belly. "Sorry, every time I think of you my heart beats harder, my stomach does back flips, and the baby starts kicking really hard." Jessica looked up at Ryan. "I think he's missed his father." Jessica took Ryan's hand and placed it on her stomach. "Can you feel that?"

Ryan's eyes light up as he felt his child move against his hand. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. "Yes, and it's amazing."

Ryan knelt down on one knee and looked up at Jessica. He locked eyes with her and ran his hands over her abdomen. He leaned forward and kissed her belly. Ryan jumped when he felt something move against his face. Ryan laughed and looked at Jessica. "It must be your child; he just kicked me in the face!"

Jessica laughed and stroked his face. "I love you, Ryan."

Horatio breathed easy but couldn't help but feel disappointed. Alexx walked up and nudged him in the arm. "What's on your mind, Horatio?" she asked.

Horatio sighed. "Well I thought Ryan was going to do something but it seems I was wrong."

Alexx looked at him with a measured look, processing his statement. A smile spread across her face when she realized what was going on. "You thought baby boy was going to pop the question, didn't you?"

Horatio smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, that's where I thought this was going. He said he was going to ask her as soon as she came home."

"Well maybe Ryan didn't want to ask her right away in fear that she would think it's because she's pregnant with his child. He doesn't want her to think it's out of obligation. Over the years I've figured out how that whacko mind of his works, with all the numbers and rituals caused by that damn disorder of his. He doesn't want her to think he's proposing just because she pregnant with his child, he wants her to think he's proposing because he loves her."

Horatio smiled. "Yeah, that's what I kind of figured. I just hope he doesn't wait too long."  
"Why's that?" Alexx asked.

"Because," Horatio said with a wry smile on his face, "I have a feeling Jessica knows it won't be long."

* * *

Ryan stared at her. Something was different, but he couldn't quite place it. Then it hit him in the face like a sack of bricks.

He walked to her and looked deep into her eyes. His hand slid beneath the right cup of her bikini. She reached up and placed her hand over his, looking into his hazel eyes.

"It's gone," he whispered.

Jessica smiled shyly at him. "All but one," she whispered, taking his other hand and placing over the kidney transplant scar on her left side.

"Whoa, Wolfe, can't wait until you get home?" Walter joked.

"Why are they gone?" Ryan whispered, ignoring Walter.

"I had them all removed," Jessica quietly told him. "All except for this one." She pressed his hand against the scar on her back.

"Why?" Ryan asked again.

"Because those were parts of Izzy," Jessica whispered, "Not parts of me."

Ryan looked at her, gently stroking her cheek. He leaned in and softly kissed her.

"I love you," he whispered, "No matter what, I'll always love you."

* * *

Jessica swam around Horatio's pool, enjoying the cool water. She came to rest in a corner in the deeper end. Ryan popped up in front of her and smiled at her. He leaned in and gently kissed her. He held himself in place in the water using the edge of the pool with his forehead leaning against hers. "I found you," he whispered, kissing her gently.

"I'm so glad you're home," he whispered as he kissed her again. "I don't know if I could have gone another day without you."

"Sure you could have," Jessica whispered in response.

"You're right," Ryan smiled, "I just didn't want to."

Ice cold water dumped over their heads caused them both to shriek out in shock. They looked to see Kyle and Horatio holding the cooler that had previously been holding drinks, laughing at their misfortune.

"You bastards!" Jessica exclaimed as she pulled herself from the pool. She grabbed Kyle and easily threw him into the pool. She struggled with Horatio for a moment before they both fell back into the water together. They broke through the surface and Horatio held onto his daughter tightly.

"You dirty old man!" Jessica exclaimed as she struggled with him.

Horatio chuckled and kissed her cheek. "Maybe I just didn't like seeing my little girl being touched by an older man."

"Hey, I'm pregnant with his child, how much more trouble could I get into now?" Jessica teased as she struggled to get away.

Ryan came up and held her from behind, pinning her between his body and Horatio's. "Oh I can think of so many ways you could still get into trouble," Ryan said as he kissed her cheek.

"Maybe we're just trying to keep you safe from yourself," Horatio said with another kiss.

"Because knowing you, Jessica, you could get away right now," Ryan said as he kissed her cheek again.

Jessica suddenly slid down under the water and broke through the surface out of their reach just in time to see Ryan and Horatio's lips meet as they tried to kiss her at the same time. They flew backwards and kicked away from each other, a look of horror on each of their faces. Everyone laughed as Ryan and Horatio were mortified.

"Oh you're so going to get it for that one!" Ryan exclaimed as he swam after Jessica.

"What, you don't like kissing my father as much as you like kissing me?" Jessica called over her shoulder as she swam away.

"Well I can now say from experience that I prefer you over your Dad," Ryan said as he grabbed her feet. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately. "You meany head," he quietly chuckled.

Jessica smiled and kissed him. "Don't lie," she chuckled, "You liked it."

"Well then in that case I'm leaving you for your Dad," Ryan chuckled as he kissed her again.

* * *

Ryan laid on his side in the bed looking at Jessica. She was on her back with her head propped on a pillow. Her camisole was pulled up, revealing her large belly. Ryan ran his hands over her tight skin, feeling the small body beneath it rise to the surface as it floated inside her.

"What are you thinking?" Jessica quietly asked. Ryan looked at her and smiled.

"You're home." He said, "You're home and we're going to have a baby. Nothing can go wrong. Everything's the way it's supposed to be. No one can ruin it now. We're going to have a baby and become the family we were supposed to be."

Jessica placed her hand on his face and smiled at him. "I love you, Ryan Wolfe. You're one of the best things to ever come into my life."

Jessica yawned and stretched her arms above her head. She looked back at Ryan with hazy, drooping eyes.

"Tired?" he asked her.

Jessica nodded her head and smiled. "Traveling makes me sleepy and being pregnant doesn't make it any easier."

Ryan pulled her into his arms. Jessica rolled over onto her side and pressed her body against Ryan's torso.

"I've missed this so much." she whispered, "I've missed being in your arms. The fist couple of weeks were so difficult. I was so cold and the bed felt so big."

"Well I had some troubles sleeping, too, but Lucy here," Ryan said as he nudged the sleeping dog with his foot, "Did her best to help me."

Jessica smiled against his neck and kissed his collar bone. Ryan nuzzled his face into her hair and breathed in her wonderful scent. "I love you Jessica," Ryan quietly said.

"I love you, too, Ryan," Jessica replied as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Ryan laid there for awhile just holding her. Jessica's body was so warm. He wanted to pull her as close as he could against him, but the large mass within Jessica wouldn't allow it. He watched her sleep and could hear Lucy snoring at the end of their bed. Ryan suddenly felt something move against his abdomen and looked down. He didn't see anything but he quickly realized it was the baby moving. Jessica twitched in her sleep slightly and Ryan held her closer. He continued to lay there and watch her sleep, with their child pressed securely between them.


	18. Forever Again

**This is the final chapter in this story. This is most definitely where the M rating comes in. Quite a bit of adult themes.  
**

**I intended to update sooner, but my internet hasn't been working and I had to wait for my IT support (aka my boyfriend) to come and fix it.**

* * *

Forever Again

* * *

Jessica awoke when she felt a hand resting on her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes to see Ryan's green flecked hazel ones looking back at her. He looked deep into her eyes before he gently brought his lips to hers. It was sweet and tender as their love for each other flowed through their bodies. Ryan pulled back and looked at her again before his lips came crashing back to hers.

It was fiery and hot and both moaned from desire. Ryan settled between her legs and ground his forming erection against Jessica's burning desire. She moaned and cried out as pleasure began sweeping through her body.

Jessica's fingers dug into the waistline of Ryan's boxers and her fingers broke through the blue and white striped material as she pulled them from his body. Ryan's hands flew under her shirt and Jessica heard something snap as he pulled her cami off over her head. Hooks bent and elastic cracked as Jessica's bra was ripped from her body.

Jessica cried out as Ryan attached to one of her nipples and sucked and nipped at the tender bud. She grasped his white t-shirt and tore it in half off his torso and clawed at his hard chest and abs. Ryan pulled her panties off and buried his face between her legs. Jessica's hips bucked and she practically screamed Ryan's name as he teased her sensitive flesh.

Ryan cried out as he slid into her violet heat and he nearly came just from the sensation of penetrating into her. Jessica panted as he thrusted hard into her. She curled her legs around his waist and Ryan curved his back over her large baby bump to reach her lips in a fiery kiss.

Ryan sat up and threw his head back and screamed as his powerful orgasm overtook him. He looked back down at Jessica as she squirmed with her orgasm. He kissed her again and continued thrusting into her, quickly growing hard again.

Ryan pulled out and motioned to her. Jessica panted as she rolled over and stood on her hands and knees. She gasped and whimpered as Ryan entered her from behind and draped his body over hers. He wrapped his arms around her torso and kissed along her spine. He held her tightly and felt the tiny body inside her move rapidly. Ryan groaned loudly as he came hard inside her.

Jessica stood on her knees with her back pressed against his chest. Ryan leaned back onto his heels and thrusted at the awkward angle. Jessica lifted her body up and down on top of Ryan's hardening manhood. She gasped and groaned with effort and pleasure. Ryan held her tightly and felt her body stiffen against his own. Ryan's body shuddered as he and Jessica climaxed together.

They pulled apart and fell back onto the bed together. They panted and gasped together as they came down from their orgasmic high. They stared deep into each other's eyes. Ryan reached out and gently caressed her cheek. He leaned over and kissed her gently.

"If I make you breakfast can we go again?" Ryan asked her as his chest heaved with effort.

Jessica chuckled and kissed him tenderly. "I think I would love that," she said with a smile.

Ryan jumped from the bed and threw on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. "No walk of shame here!" he declared as he ran from the room. "I just got laid! And it was amazing!"

Jessica chuckled and rolled onto her back. She covered her body with the bed sheet and sighed contently. She ran her hands over her swollen belly and smiled as she felt the strong movements of her baby.

"We're finally home, Oliver," she said. "We're finally back home with your Daddy."

* * *

Jessica waddled into the kitchen, now wearing a t-shirt and panties. Ryan smiled at her from where he stood at the stove, making omelets. Jessica stood next to him and wrapped her arm around one of his, leaning her head against his shoulder. Ryan kissed the top of her head and nuzzled his face into her hair.

"You're back," was all he whispered.

* * *

Ryan moaned as Jessica thrusted on top of him. He was sitting on the bathroom counter with Jessica on top of his lap, surrounding him in her tight heat. He came with a loud moan of Jessica's name and panted as they continued to sit on the counter.

"Damn," he muttered, "I think I like this position."

Jessica chuckled and kissed him. She ran her hands down his sides and sighed. "You're still so skinny," she quietly said.

"I know," Ryan chuckled, "I'm still trying to put back on some weight."

"You probably weigh less than me right now," Jessica smirked.

"Probably, but you're more than just one person," Ryan said as he ran his hands over her swollen belly.

Jessica smiled lovingly at him and leaned in to gently kiss him. "So how does it feel to know you're going to be a Dad?" she whispered.

Ryan smiled against her lips and held her close. "Amazing," he whispered. "I'm so excited."

"We should shower now," Jessica quietly said, after several minutes of silence.

"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea," Ryan said with a smile.

* * *

Jessica smiled as he watched Ryan from where she laid on the bed, her naked body covered with the sheet. He looked at her and returned the smile as he picked up the pieces of his torn shirt.

"What are you smirking about, preggo?" he asked her as he collected his ruined boxers.

"I'm just enjoying the sight of you cleaning our bedroom naked," Jessica said with a sly smile. "You can't even go one more round because our clothes are scattered across the floor."

Ryan chuckled and continued his cleaning spree. "I'm sorry; my anxiety has been really bad since I got sick." Ryan explained, "I feel like I'm worrying about everything so much all the time and keeping things in order helps calm me down."

Jessica chuckled and placed her hand on her large belly as she rolled onto her side. "Well I don't mind," she said. "I think you should clean the house naked more often."

Ryan chuckled and shook his head. "Why, so you can watch me get a boner?"

"Does cleaning turn you on?" Jessica teased. "The vacuum just arouses you until you become so hard it hurts?"

"No, having you stare at me with those eyes while I'm naked turns me on, if you couldn't tell," Ryan said, indicting his forming erection.

Jessica giggled and ran her hand across her swollen belly. She groaned and rolled onto her back. "Every time I try to relax the little tike starts kicking again," she said, massaging her abdomen.

Ryan set the battered clothes on the floor and walked to her. He sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hands over her tight skin. He smiled as he felt the strong kicks. "He's really ours?" he quietly asked.

Jessica smiled at him and placed her hand over his. "Yes Ryan, this is really _our_ baby," she said. "I swear to you, you're the only man I have ever loved and the only one I would want to have a child with." She squeezed his hand and looked deep into his eyes. "I promised you I would only ever love you and I would never let another man touch me like you do. I kept that promise and because I did we're going to have a beautiful little baby."

Ryan smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "I love you so much," he whispered. "I'm sorry if it sounded like I was questioning your faithfulness. It's just the fear of loosing you."

Jessica kissed his palm. "I know, it's the OCD talking," she quietly said.

Ryan chuckled and kissed her again before he stood and continued cleaning. "Well my shirt and boxers are ruined but your cami got out unscathed with the exception of the one strap ripping."

"Is my bra alright?" Jessica inquired as she rolled onto her side again.

"Yeah, I think I just bent the hooks," Ryan said as he examined the undergarment.

"Good because I only have three right now that fit my stupid big boobs," Jessica said as she rolled back onto her back. "Stupid baby made them get bigger."

"I don't mind," Ryan said as he straddled her hips. He pulled the sheet down and fondled her breasts. "Wow, I didn't notice until now how much bigger they are."

Jessica moaned lightly as she felt herself become aroused again. "Keep that up buddy and I won't be able to wait until you clean the bedroom."

Ryan leaned down and nipped at her left nipple. Jessica cried out and pushed him away. "Please don't do that," she said, covering her breast with her hands. "They're too sensitive right now."

Ryan looked down at her with worried eyes. "I'm sorry," he quietly said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's ok," Jessica said, "My breasts have just been really tender for the last few months. You can touch but just don't play too rough."

Ryan leaned down and gently kissed her neck. He worked his way down and planted tiny, soft kisses all over her chest. Jessica felt him harden through the sheet that separated their bodies as he kissed her passionately.

"Forget cleaning up," Ryan said as he pulled the sheet off. "I want to make love to you right now. Because I love you and I missed you sooooo much."

Jessica pulled his body against hers and kissed him gently. "I missed you, too," she whispered. "Let's make love again, because I need you, because I'm in love you, Ryan Wolfe."

* * *

Jessica and Ryan laid together naked in their bed. The sheet was pulled over their bodies and their heads rested on pillows just inches from each other. Ryan looked deep into her eyes and gently caressed her face.

"You're so beautiful," he whispered.

Jessica smiled and kissed his fingertips. "Thank you," she whispered in response. "And I think you're the most amazing man in the world."

Jessica's phone rang and she reached out and picked it up off the nightstand. She smiled as she looked at the number on the screen and brought the phone to her ear.

"Hello Daddy," she happily said, "How are you?"

"Hello Jessie Bug," Horatio smiled, "How's the sex fest?"

Jessica giggled and rolled onto her back. "Hey we've done more than just have sex today," she smiled. "We had breakfast and took a shower and Ryan cleaned up our bedroom naked."

Horatio chuckled and smiled to himself. "Well that's good. Do you have plans for tomorrow?"

"Well besides go and visit my wonderful father and introduce him to his first grandchild, not much," Jessica happily said.

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear," Horatio responded, the smile obvious in his voice.

* * *

Jessica felt her body melt into Ryan's and sighed contently.

"What are you thinking about?" Ryan quietly asked.

Jessica smiled at him. "You," she whispered, "I was thinking about how much I love you and how much I missed you."

Ryan smiled and kissed her. "So do you think your plan worked?"

Jessica thought it over as she searched through his eyes. "I'm not sure, do you?"

"Well I got a letter a few months after you left, taunting me about you dying, but nothing after that."

"You got a letter?" Jessica quietly inquired.

"Yeah, do you think it's the same person who impersonated Tommy Sherzer?"

Jessica shrugged her shoulders. "Probably, someone saw through the story."

"Well now everyone's going to know you're alive," Ryan quietly said. "I mean it's not like we can continue to act like you're dead or missing."

Jessica was silent for a long moment, considering what Ryan had just said.

"Then I guess we'll just have to face them together."

* * *

Horatio smiled as he opened the door to his house. The sight of his very pregnant daughter was almost overwhelming. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as close as he possibly could. He kissed her cheek and looked into her eyes.

"So it's my turn to spend time with you, now?" he quietly asked.

Jessica smiled brightly up at him. "Yes Daddy, I'm all yours today. But only if Ryan gets to stay, too."

Horatio chuckled and held her hand, leading her into his house. "Of course," Horatio said as he smiled at Ryan following them, "I wouldn't expect you two to part for that long."

* * *

Horatio sat with Jessica on the couch, talking for hours, catching up on seven months of lost time. Jessica laughed as Horatio told her about cuddling with Ryan during the snow storm in Germany and tears welled in her eyes as he told her about catching the man that had laced the pepper spray that nearly took Ryan's life.

"So Bug," Horatio smiled, "What did you do for seven months?"

Jessica smiled at him. "Well I've already told Ryan, but I don't think he would mind hearing it again."

* * *

**And thus ends this tale of love. If you're wondering where Jessica was while she was gone then you better check out my next story. ;)**

**Peace Out! ~KC  
**


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